CIA-type data net planned by private, nonspy team

Imagine having the vast information resources of the CIA at your disposal. That's exactly the kind of thing a private information agency plans to offer, according to the Washington Post. Former British Prime Minister Edward Heath and US publisher Anthony Stout plan to join forces to form a private computerized intelligence service that will supposedly rival the capability of the CIA.

Secrecy has shrouded the new company, called International Reporting and Information Systems, causing some reports to refer to the venture as a ''private spy agency.''

A company spokesman said there will be nothing clandestine about the service. It will gather only open information available to the public. The difference will be its computer capacity.