Forget Newspolls about tax cuts or government policy – the new edition of Reader’s Digest is getting really serious.The little magazine has polled Australians about whether they believe “aliens have visited Earth” – and 67% answered yes.

In a national poll of 750 Australians nationwide, RD devotes six pages
to the results and has come to the conclusion that four out of five of
us believe aliens exist. 84% of believers think aliens will be
“friendly” and almost three-quarters of RD’s overall sample answered
“no” to the question: “Do you think authorities are telling us all they
know about alien encounters?”

When asked what aliens might look
like, around half the believers said “humans.” Says one respondent –
female, 31, Queensland – ” I have a very open mind. I’ve never seen a
million dollars, yet I know it exists.” As for those participants in
the non-believer minority – one fifth of RD’s sample stated
categorically that they don’t believe in the existence of aliens but
that doesn’t necessarily mean that they think “believers are crazy.”

RD
caps off its “Out There” alien investigation with a dig at government
cutbacks at SETI Australia (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) –
and a five-page interview with Tom Cruise.