1. Introduction
The rapid rate of Internet penetration throughout the world, coupled with dramatic advances in uses of information technology in business and industry, is creating an extensive literature on various aspects of ‘e-business’, ‘e-commerce’ and ‘e-Government’. e-Government means different things to different people. Some observers define e-Government in terms of specific actions: using a government kiosk to receive job information, applying for social security benefits through a web site, or creating shared databases for multiple agencies. Other observers define e-Government more generally as automating the delivery of government services. While perceptions of e-Government vary widely, a broad definition of e-Government is “the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in improving the activities and services of government” (Heeks 2004) and a more value-laden definition is “the use of ICT to transform government by making it more accessible, effective, and accountable” (InfoDev 2002). The first definition reflects the basic model of e-Government where government services delivered on-line to citizens and implies efficiency and customer-service; the second derives from a governance model of increased participation of citizens in the affairs of their government. The main objective of this paper is to identify and analyse the primary issues, opportunities and challenges that e-Government initiatives present in the State of Kuwait.