Government portal websites using the domain name of "gov.cn" in China had surpassed 12,000 by the end of June, according to China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) statistics.

China's first government portal website was set up ten years ago by south China's Hainan provincial government. Over 90 percent of departments under the State Council, provincial and city governments, as well as 77 percent of county governments have their own websites now.

The former State Economic and Trade Commission, now known as National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), along with other 40 departments and ministries, launched an online-government project in 1999. The State Council general office issued a five-year plan in 2001 on the nationwide implementation of government affairs informatization, which has greatly boosted the development of government portal websites at all levels.

As contents are enriched and functions consistently strengthened, government websites have evolved into an important platform for the transparency of government affairs and fostering of a service government.

The central government portal website was officially opened on January 1, 2006, providing latest updates on hot topics concerning the general public, official explanations of laws and regulations and the latest features on government affairs. Since its opening, the website has posted over 500 State Council documents, and 250 issues from State Council Gazettes. Nearly 60 news briefings by the State Council and other departments were broadcasted live through the website. About 1,000 news items, both in Chinese and English, were posted on the website daily, making it an important source for people both at home and abroad to educate themselves about China's government affairs.

Timely, accurate and complete government information published by government websites at all levels play an important role in improving the government image and transparency. Highlighting one example, the Ministry of Commerce's website published over 1,700 business news items, 2600 laws and rules relating to commerce, and nearly 560,000 commercial news items over the pass three years, becoming a major source for the public to discover the country's business policies.

These government websites have also sought to improve their online service quality. Shanghai municipal government's website provides over 1,670 kinds of service items, including the?option to download 6,000 forms for different services.

The Ministry of Agriculture opened an online office complex to provide "all-in-one" services including policy consultation, guidelines and result inquiry service for those waiting for administrative approval.?

New forms are also used by government websites to communicate with the general public. The central government portal website invites some officials from governments, both central and local, to conduct online dialogues every month. The interactive communication has attracted more people to participate in the social economic activities through the government website.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Yunxing, December 29, 2006)