GM HOPES `WEB CAR' READY FOR TEST SURF SOON.(BUSINESS)

Byline: BRIAN S. AKRE Associated Press

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. plans to offer voice-activated Internet access in a car by the end of next year as part of a campaign announced Tuesday to transform the world's largest automaker into a ``global e-business enterprise.''

GM has formed an independent unit called ``e-GM'' to coordinate and expand its global electronic commerce activities, with a focus on making it easier for consumers to buy new vehicles online and to package them with an array of on-board services via satellite.

Within five years, in-car services such as Internet access and CD-quality satellite radio broadcasts could generate …