E-gov initiatives making strides.

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In its latest report, Government Online, data analysis firm eMarketer found that while e-government initiatives are making huge strides worldwide, there is still a long way to go in establishing trust in terms of online correspondence between government and citizens.

Key findings from leading research firms and international governmental agencies include the following:

* A 31-country study of nearly 29,000 people by international market research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres indicates that 30 percent of the worldwide adult population now accesses some aspect of government on the Internet.

* According to Gartner, government IT budgets are expected to increase steadily over the next three years, with IT services absorbing the vast majority of spending. From 2000-2005, software will see the biggest growth (15 percent), followed by services (13 percent), networking equipment (9.3 percent), and hardware (5.3 percent).

* Brown University's Taubman Center for Public Policy found that only 12 percent of the nearly 1,200 Web sites surveyed around the world offer fully executable services online. Among world regions, government Web sites in North America (including Canada, Mexico, and the United States) offer the highest percentage of executable online services. By far, the most frequently offered service was...