However, only about one-third of all countries provide public services online and only the most developed countries provide transactional services online.

The report presents a comparative ranking of world countries according to two primary indicators: the state of e-government readiness and the extent of e-government participation. it placed the United States at the top of the list, followed by Denmark and the United Kingdom. The survey assesses the UN's 191 member states' e-government readiness based oil Web site assessment, telecommunication infrastructure, and human resource endowment.

According to the report, governments worldwide have made rapid progress in embracing technologies for e-government in the past few years. In 2001, the UN e-government survey found that 143 member states used the Internet in some capacity; by 2004, 93 percent, or 178 of 191 members, had a Web site presence. E-Government Readiness Index: Top 10 Countries United States 0.9132 Denmark 0.9047 United Kingdom 0.8852 Sweden 0.8741 Republic of Korea 0.8575 Australia 0.8377 Canada 0.8369 Singapore 0.8340 Finland 0.8239 Norway 0.8178 Source: UN global E-Government Readiness Report 2004 (www.unpan.org/egovernment4.asp).