At the start of Philadelphia's mayor's race, the biggest waves were made on the Internet - thanks to a dirty-tricks scandal that damaged one Democrat's campaign.

Seven months later, the two finalists - Republican Sam Katz and Democrat John Street - both have slick Web sites to promote their campaigns in the homestretch, but most experts think the Internet is only causing political ripples.

"I don't think there's anything on-line that will match what happened in the primary," said Democrat political consultant Larry Ceisler, who has organized political chats on the Internet.

He was referring, of course, to the episode that became known as Webgate - when the friend of a top campaign aide to state Rep. Dwight Evans created a fake Web page that highlighted controversial remarks on race by a rival, former housing chief John White Jr.

The incident caused a furor that led to the ouster of Evans' two top campaign aides, but most Philadelphians didn't follow the scandal on the Internet. They learned of it through the media in which they get most of their political information - newspapers, TV and radio.

"Philadelphia is not a wired city - most people do not have access to the Internet," said Jenny Stromer-Galley, a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School of Communications, who has been following the way the mayoral candidates use the Web.

Statistics back her up. A survey led by Stromer-Galley found that 30 percent of Philadelphians have Internet access in their homes - less than the national average - with wide disparities among populations, with the number rising to 47 percent in affluent Center City but plunging to 17 percent in economically troubled North Philadelphia.

However, in the neck-and-neck race between Street and Katz, most experts believe that the outcome may be swung by a handful of voters who are mostly white, liberal and affluent - in other words, those who use the Internet most.

That said, Stromer-Galley and others - even the campaigns themselves - concede that the Web pages from Street and Katz aren't as snazzy as those set up by some of the presidential contenders, for example.

Stromer-Galley noted that Katz's Web page only has one speech, the announcement of his candidacy, scanty biographical information, and doesn't have some of his issue positions, including his wage-tax plan that has generated so much controversy.

Katz's campaign director said the site - www.samkatz.org - has been most useful in generating e-mails, some 20 or so a day, some of which are responded to personally by the candidate. Typically, about eight to 12 people use the Web site daily to also volunteer for the campaign.

Unlike some presidential-candidate sites, the Katz Web page hasn't generated many donations.

"We've gotten a couple of thousand dollars - it's paid for the Web site," Barnett said.

"At this point, Street is using his Web site more effectively," said Stromer-Galley, noting that a number of new features have been added to the Internet page in recent weeks.

The niftiest and most high-tech is the use of streaming videos that allow visitors who download or have the necessary program to view all of Street's TV ads - even the ones devoted to attacking Katz's views - on the Internet.

In addition, visitors to www.street99.com can access a number of Street's positions on issues like vouchers, truancy, attracting new teachers and fighting crime. The site also includes all of Street's press releases to the news media, including, again, the ones that seek to trash his GOP rival.

It's still not as high-tech as Web pages for national pols like Bill Bradley or John McCain, many of which take credit-card donations, or that of Texas Gov. George W. Bush, which has gained attention for disclosing the names of his many contributors.

"Right now, Philadelphia leans more on the low-tech than the high-tech," said Ceisler. Here, he added, donors are looking for access, and "it's hard to play when you pay on-line."