Over the next 10 years, state and local governments will try to put nearly all their services online. The services could range from electronic payments to driver's license renewals -- and perhaps even to voting.

• Already residents in some cities can pay their car taxes and parking tickets over the Internet, file their taxes online, register bicycles, sign up for races or make reservations to public events.

• A number of cities -- particularly in the West -- are developing systems so contractors can apply for building permits online, thus reducing traffic at city halls.

• The City of Santa Monica, Calif., one of the first to offer online services, reports it has increased services without adding staff -- and cut about 6,500 visits a year to city hall.

• Boston, which offers a wide range of online services, is setting up kiosks in all neighborhoods throughout the city for those without computers at home.

Experts say that several issues must first be resolved before government Web sites become fully interactive. Financial security must be assured for credit card and electronic funds transactions. Personal privacy must be protected, and governments need to ensure that the person on the other end of the computer system really is who he or she claims to be.

Source: Richard Wolf, "'On Line, Not In Line:' When Government Hits the Web," USA Today, June 15, 1999.