A consensus has been reached among government officials that a well-operated e-government network will benefit both the government and the public.

This comes after Premier Wen Jiabao's message to February's national e-government meeting, in which he called for the country's e-government to be more efficient and provide better services to the public.

E-government will simplify the delivery of services to citizens, streamline the operation of government and enhance government's responsiveness to the public.

We live in an increasingly interconnected society, where the Internet has brought great convenience to our social and economic life.

And now the government has realized the importance of smooth communication with the public through cyber technology.

The central government and some local authorities have established websites to make their services more accessible to the public.

These online initiatives improve the effectiveness of government in a number of ways, such as increasing public participation, improving access to public services and reflecting public opinion in a more timely manner.

But such functional government websites do not seem to account for a major proportion of the nation's e-government activities. Many government websites seem unable to post basic public information in a timely manner, let alone use the new channel to improve access to public services.

In some areas, e-government facilities are nothing more than "image projects," installed as a token response to the central government's call for the promotion of electronic public services.

Such a qualitative change in the style of government will require massive investment.

CCID Consulting, a famous consulting company based in Beijing, estimates that the price tag for China's e-government efforts in 2005 may have been as much as 48 billion yuan (US$6 billion). Bolder estimates from other sources even put the figure in excess of 200 billion yuan (US$25 billion) a year.

If efficient use is not made of e-government facilities, this will mean that millions in taxpayers' money have simply been poured down the drain.

The central government has realized the problem and called on local governments to pay more attention to making e-government work.

Local governments need to grasp the importance of providing good services both via the Internet and in the real world.

(China Daily June 14, 2006)