COMMUNICATIONS, THE MEDIA AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
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are connected to the Internet, and over 84 per cent of the population have mobile phones. Internet accounts exceed 2.6 million, broadband coverage reaches all commercial buildings and over 95 per cent of households, and there are over eight million e-payment 'smart' cards in circulation.
The Government is committed to keeping Hong Kong in the forefront of IT development. In May, the Government promulgated its updated 'Digital 21' IT Strategy, which is an overall blueprint for driving IT development in Hong Kong. The objective is to position Hong Kong as a leading e-business community and digital city in the globally connected world. The theme of the strategy is Hong Kong: Connecting the World and there are structured targets and an implementation timetable in five key result areas, namely, e-business, E-government, IT manpower, building a digitally inclusive society, and exploitation of enabling technologies.
E-business
The Government is committed to providing the necessary infrastructure for e-business to prosper. It has liberalised the telecommunications market, enacted the Electronic Transactions Ordinance to provide a clear legal framework for e-business and established a local Public Key Infrastructure for the conduct of secure electronic transactions. A review on the Electronic Transactions Ordinance is under way with the aim of keeping it up-to-date with technological advancements and international e-business developments. To facilitate the conduct of cross-border electronic transactions, Hongkong Post, the public certification authority, has signed memoranda of understanding on cross-certification arrangements with ViaCode of the United Kingdom, I.D.Safe of Singapore, DigiCert of Malaysia, the Korea Information Certificate Authority and the Shanghai Electronic Certificate Authority Co. Ltd.
The Government also organises various promotional activities to encourage the business sector, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to adopt e-business, and works with industry support organisations to provide support services to assist SMEs in adopting IT and e-business.
E-government
The Government is leading by example in the use of e-business, both in conducting internal business operations and in delivering public services to the business and the community on an 'anywhere and anytime' basis.
In 2001, the Government made significant progress in electronic government (E-government) and in May promulgated a comprehensive E-government strategy. Targets have been set to provide an e-option (the option to obtain service on-line or through other electronic means) for 90 per cent of the public services amenable to the electronic mode of delivery and to conduct 80 per cent of the Government's procurement tenders through electronic means by end-2003. The Government will proceed with flagship E-government projects which fall into four categories Government-to-Citizen (G2C), Government-to-Business (G2B), Government-to-Employee (G2E) and Government-to-Government (G2G). These projects will bring significant benefits to both the Government and the community. In order to better drive the E-government agenda forward, monitor the achievement of the E-government targets and co-ordinate flagship E-government initiatives, the