The internet has been a game changer in various fields. It is now the turn of Governance. The openness, transparency and freedom of the internet have largely been feared by government agencies for a long time, but now, these agencies are embracing it. More and more attention is being paid to building and running government websites - and the results are beginning to show.

From banishing brochure copy to tweeting, writing agency blogs and inviting direct public participation on issues, this new breed of government websites aren't missing a single trick.  The image of the Government as a staid, authoritative bureaucracy is slowly being replaced by one of "your friendly cyberhood government agency". Allan Holmes outlines some of the top Gov websites and what they are doing right to bring about this change.

Holmes talks about NextGov as the aggregator of Government related news and some of the other popular Gov sites like TSA, Library of Congress, NamUS and NASA. The TSA blog attracts dozens of candid comments on each post. NASA is known for its light hearted and conversational style of tweet whilst NamUS, on the other hand, seeks active public participation to trace missing persons.