  We analyze numerically the critical properties of a two-dimensional
discretized random surface with extrinsic curvature embedded in a
three-dimensional space. The use of the toroidal topology enables us to enforce
the non-zero external extension without the necessity of defining a boundary
and allows us to measure directly the string tension. We show that a phase
transition from the crumpled phase to the smooth phase observed earlier for a
spherical topology appears also for a toroidal surface for the same finite
value of the coupling constant of the extrinsic curvature term. The phase
transition is characterized by the vanishing of the string tension. We discuss
the possible non-trivial continuum limit of the theory, when approaching the
critical point. Numerically we find a value of the critical exponent $\n$ to be
between .38 and .42. The specific heat, related to the extrinsic curvature term
seems not to diverge (or diverge slower than logarithmically) at the critical
point.
