Forget Facebook, MySpace or any other online hangout that boasts tens or hundreds of millions of people.

For Teresa Munoz, Athlinks (population: 34,000) is the place to be. She uses the community devoted to competitive running, swimming and biking events to find training partners and get advice, including information about her first Ironman triathlon.

Munoz, 45, of Hacienda Heights, Calif., said she tried finding like-minded people on MySpace, but found only those "looking for people to date, not really there for the sport. I didn't get as much out of that."

Banks have been disappointing customers many ways lately — tightening mortgage lending standards, paring back home-equity and credit-card lines and lowering savings interest rates — but they're receiving higher marks for at least one thing: their Web sites.

Customer satisfaction with online banking sites has risen significantly over the past five years, according to a survey released Tuesday by ForeSee Results. ForeSee's survey uses the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index, and this year, the index registered a score of 82 out of 100 for online banking, up 12 percent, or 9 points, from a score of 73 in 2003.

A majority of U.S. adults are uncomfortable with Web sites using a person's online activity to deliver customized content, a study released Thursday showed.

However, Harris Interactive found that people became more comfortable after they were presented with Web-site privacy and security policies recommended by the Federal Trade Commission.