Arkansas' eGovernment Program Receives National Recognition in Three Different Competitions.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The Arkansas official Web site (www.Arkansas.gov) continues to be among the nation's most honored portals for offering timesaving online government services to citizens and businesses. This year, Arkansas.gov has been ranked among the top eGovernment states in three national surveys.

Last week, Arkansas was ranked as the sixth most digitally advanced state government in the Digital States Survey, a comprehensive study that examines best practices, policies, and progress made by state governments in using digital technologies to better serve constituents and streamline operations.

In August, Arkansas.gov was ranked fifth from a field of more than 200 public sector Web sites in the 2006 Best of the Web competition for government Web site achievement. Now in its tenth year, Best of the Web evaluates government Web sites based on their innovation, Web-based delivery of public services, efficiency, economy, and functionality.

The state's new IT budget planning system also received a Best of the Web Digital Government Achievement Award in the government-to-government category for providing a secure online system that allows all 143 state agencies to submit IT budget plans, project reports, and IT plan waivers to Executive Chief Information Officer Doug Elkins.

All three surveys were conducted by the Center for Digital Government, an international research and advisory institute on the use of information technology in government.

"Our goal is to make it more convenient for Arkansans to deal with their state government," said Governor Mike Huckabee. "Technology has allowed us to provide a higher level of service to our citizens and businesses, and we are very proud to be ranked among the nation's best eGovernment states."

Arkansas.gov offers more than 400 interactive services, including car tag renewals, property tax payments, business tax filings, game and fish licenses, and criminal background searches. Launched in July 1997, the Arkansas.gov portal supports more than 190 state and local government agencies and processed more than 2.4 million online transactions last year. To maximize taxpayer return on investment, Arkansas uses a self-funded solution to provide eGovernment services.

"Arkansas is a leader in using online services to make state government more accessible to citizens, and I share this recognition with our state employees and private sector partners who have worked so hard to build this award-winning eGovernment program," said Doug Elkins, Executive Chief Information Officer of Arkansas.

Arkansas Information Consortium, a Little Rock-based subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC (Nasdaq: EGOV), manages Arkansas.gov on behalf of the state.

About Arkansas.gov

Arkansas.gov is the official Web site of the state of Arkansas (www.Arkansas.gov) and a service of the Information Network of Arkansas. The Information Network of Arkansas is a collaborative effort between the state of Arkansas and Arkansas Information Consortium that helps Arkansas government entities Web-enable their information services. Arkansas.gov was built and is marketed, operated, and maintained by Arkansas Information Consortium, a Little Rock-based wholly owned subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC.