Russian ministry to submit "electronic state" package to government

MOSCOW, December 1 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade is planning to submit a full package of fundamental conceptual documents on the creation of an "electronic state" to the government in 2006, the deputy minister said Thursday.

Speaking at the CIO. State Sector conference, Andrei Sharonov said that pilot projects were being carried out to revise mechanisms for the implementation of the "electronic state."

The term refers to a single online information resource on state purchases. The government prepared draft regulations on the resource and the distribution of software to the regions.

"We aim to create a common information space on government purchases so that a businessman from Samara could easily manage to find out about the all tenders that, for example, the Murmansk Region's administration will be holding at one site," Sharonov said.

Another component of the "electronic state" will be a personal information database of the population, which is needed in order to offer high-quality and comprehensive services to the population. Such a system requires information security and regular public audits. Sharonov said that citizens would be able to obtain free access to their personal information gathered by state departments.