being based on the ideas of corporate governance;

  Public service functions, based mainly on service values, carried out for the most part

in municipalities.

In Finland, the aim has been to develop a network society in accordance with 

fundamental rights, in which no one is disadvantaged because of place of residence, age,

or occupation (business affiliated or private individuals). This is also the crux of the

Finnish electronic transaction policy, which is based on the 1998 decision in principle of

the Council of Ministers on electronic transactions, development of services and 

reduction. The emphasis has been on researching the social and economic effects of ICT.

The most characteristic element of the network society is the amount of technology

used, most significantly the use of digital data, the development of information net 

works and the spread of network connections. These trends can be seen in the statistics

for telephone connections. In August 1998, Finland became the first country where

more than 50 percent of the population had access to a mobile phone. By December

1998, the number of mobile phones exceeded that of conventional ones. In May 2000,

55 percent of the population had a conventional telephone connection, and more than

70 percent had a mobile phone. Another indicator of trends in a network society is the

number of computers with Internet access. In January 2000, 12.1 percent of people in

Finland had such access. This figure grew rapidly by July 2000 to 13.5 percent.

8

Singapore

Together with Canada and the United States, Singapore significantly outpaced the

other 19 countries surveyed in the Accenture report. They are  innovative leaders  with

their e government initiatives, including a nationwide portal that provides citizens with

a single point of access to government services. In a 1999 survey, the U.S. General 

Services Administration called Singapore s e government site  the most developed

example of integrated service delivery in the world . One of the principal reasons for

this level of service availability is, of course, the state investment in broadband 

connectivity, which allows, for example, online video streaming, and offers lifelong

learning opportunities. Most other countries still only dream of such service availability.

The digital divide is not very wide in Singapore. Many children have e mail accounts

at school at the age of 5. For people without Internet access at home, there are plenty of

other places to surf the Net. Most schools and all libraries are fully wired, and more

than 49.8 percent of the country s homes have access. 

The Singapore Government Internet Web Site was launched on 28 June 1996.

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