(A) Information Systems

In 1994, the Information Services Department began to implement an information systems strategy to improve the quality of its services through the quicker dissemination of information and more efficient communication links. The first stage involved the use of the Government News Information System to, among other things, issue press releases to news organisations via computers. The information systems strategy has been fully implemented and extended to all departmental operations following the computerisation of the ISD press library in August 1996.

A Digital Photo System was introduced in June 1997 to allow media organisations to do on-line searching and downloading of Government photographs. The system, which adopts the latest web technology, allows registered users to log into the system with any available Internet browser in the market.

Following the growing popularity of the Internet, a service was introduced in April 1998 to upload automatically all Government press releases at "http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/". Through the Internet, members of the public can now have direct access to all Government press releases issued through the Government News Information System.

To further enhance dissemination of Government information to the community, all major Government press conferences have been broadcast live through the Internet since January 2000.

(B) Government Homepage

The Hong Kong Government Homepage was launched on the Internet in December 1995. It is a convenient single access point for information published on the net by all official and quasi-official organisations in Hong Kong.

The Government has adopted a policy to encourage use of the Internet for the dissemination of official information. The Internet Resource Centre was established in ISD in early 1997 to help Government bureaux and departments set up homepages and to consider how the Government can improve the dissemination of information through better use of the Internet.

(C) Online Government news bulletin

To foster a closer and trusting relationship between the Government and the community, an online Government news bulletin at "http://news.gov.hk", offering up-to-date news and information from the Information Service Department with rich multimedia and interactive contents, was introduced in December 2002.

As more people here and abroad turn to the Internet for news updates, it offers an additional channel for accessing Government news, views and information in a dynamic and colourful way. It also makes it easier for the public to navigate other Government websites. This customer-oriented site provides updated Government news to web surfers anytime, anywhere. It also allows Internet users to personalise the web pages so as to more easily pinpoint the news of interest to them. E-mail subscription to daily headlines from selected news categories is also available.