GERMANY'S hi-tech industry has called for moves to put the country's government bureaucracy online. BITKOM, the German association for information technology and telecommunications, says millions can be saved if Germany extends its plan to put all federal ministry services on the internet by 2005.
"We're calling for a master plan for e-government in Germany," BITKOM vice-president Willi Berchtold says.
He says a "patchwork quilt" of local and state initiatives urgently need co-ordination from the top.
This would mean filing a tax return and applying for a passport or driver's licence could be made relatively painless. The German government also hopes to have polling stations online by 2006, giving voters chance to cast their ballots on the internet, but first need to clear up security and privacy concerns.
Quelle: News Interactive>/a>
