Summary

During the final decade of the 20th century, a new concept began to emerge in American political and governmental parlance -- electronic government. Initially, the term was little more than a general recognition of a confluence of information technology developments and the application and use of these technologies by government entities. Subsequently, it has oftentimes been used a symbol, an ambiguous reference to both current applications of information technology to government operations and a goal of realising more efficient and economical performance of government functions. It is a dynamic concept of varying meaning and significance. This book reviews the emerging concept of electronic government, or e-government; describes the policy environment defining and shaping it; and discusses some to the components of e-government implementation. A separate section on electronic signatures is presented.