Dot.coms Race to Serve the Public.

• Position: Brief Article

Although few town administrators and residents are aware of it, every town in the United States already has been Web enabled, at least in terms of a few simple business functions such as paying a parking ticker or paying property taxes. Both ezgov.com in Atlanta and govworks.com in Washington, D.C., allow users to pay parking tickets on-line by using their credit cards. There is a "convenience fee" for using the service, but paying tickets is only one possible aspect of e-government's future. GovWorks.com already connects users to many government auctions and can provide listing and contact information for job postings, government officials, and Web site addresses. One difference among these Web companies serving governments is...