Germanys biggest computer magazine c´t has reviewed my book Electronic Government - Vom User zum Bürger (Electronic Government - From Users to Citizens; german only) in it's current issue. Obviously the reviewer didn´t like what he read - but his final conclusion is pretty accurate to my intentions: "confessed humanists may appreciate this thoroughly theory heavy diligent piece of work in their discussion-circles - practically orientated potential buyers should consider reading an extract before doing a purchase...". I never intended to write a manual on how to turn yourself from a user into a citizen, but wanted to provide an analysis why such a process is inevitable in the given setting of political economy. I strongly believe that E-government is one of the most important developments underway, that might fundamentally affect the internet, governments and people alike. Considering the ambitions that the responsible administrations show, there should be much more critical discussion on this currently under-theorized topic.
In the other news China has announced, that they intend ot provide "second generation" electronic ID-Cards for all citizens above the age of 16 until 2008. What remains unclear is if this cards will include Digital Signatures or not. Furthermore it would be interesting to know which companys are involved in this.