backgrounder: government 2.0
There are two streams of interaction that can be enhanced by an Internet-enabled government.
One is to provide services online that previously were only available through in-person or paper-based interaction. The other is to use the participative web to engage with citizens, to enable a freer, more direct, more rapid discussion between government representives and citizens, and between citizens themselves.
The Guardian reported in 2006 that "In Canada, more than 50% of the population file their returns online. Denmark and Sweden have achieved even higher rates."
To some extent, it is a relatively straightforward technical AND process challenge to translate offline services into online capabilities.
For citizen engagement, the technologies are now becoming available, but there are few if any existing processes in place to build upon.
There are a few examples of the government opening up by using Web 2.0, for example, there are some official government blogs, including
I invite you to point out other examples in the comments.