E-government is a waste of money, says public

While the government have been spending money hand over fist to get all government services online by 2005, it seems Joe Public hasn't really noticed any change for the better.

Nearly 75 per cent of people surveyed by service software company Transversal said they hadn't spotted any difference to online government from the investments and half weren't impressed by the service they got from the websites at the moment.

Although the Whitehall is keen to see e-government become the norm by 2005, users still prefer more traditional methods for getting in touch with their civil servants, with 58 per cent saying their preferred way to contact the various arms of government was to pick up the phone and only 32 per cent said they liked using web or email best.

A study last year from the UN, however, voted the UK's e-government efforts the best in Europe. Best, maybe, but largely unvisited - the study also found that only one in five surfers ever use the internet to access government services.