(IPS) feature

This modern desert oasis is already the most trendy and cosmopolitan place in the Middle East, but trust Dubai to make yet another mark for itself.

For several weeks now, residents of the best known of the country's seven emirates have been seeing an ease in their dealings with the government, thanks to Dubai's spanking new e-government services.

The first such venture in the Middle East, where cyberways are still in the nascent stages, Dubai's e-government venture is aimed at breaking down barriers both within and without government departments by providing a one-stop shop for all public services by means of a few clicks of a mouse.

Designed to provide trouble-free access to all sorts of data on Dubai, both to residents and foreigners, the emirate's single sign-in portal www.dubai.ae has a search engine enabling users to browse the available services and information.

Most of its departments have already gone online, including the Dubai Police, Dubai Municipality, Department of Economic Development, Department of Health and Medical Services. The others are expected to follow suit in the next several weeks.

Time saving

The project was launched in April 2000, but it took just 18 months for the Dubai government to build the infrastructure needed. Thus, since last month, more and more Dubai residents have been logging to the portal and finding tasks involving the bureaucracy less of a challenge to accomplish.

Tele-marketing executive Meeta Sharma, for example, marvels at the difference between car registration before the e-services became available, and how it is at present.

In the past, she recalls, ''it was really cumbersome to renew my car registration. First I would have to stand in one queue to find out how many traffic fines I had, wait in another queue to pay them, and go to a third queue for renewal. It used to take ages''.

''But ever since the traffic department adopted online services, we can check whether we have any unpaid fines (while) sitting at our computer andeven pay them,'' says a beaming Sharma. ''It saves so much quality time.''

Even Jeff Strachan, marketing director of the JW Marriott Hotel here, says: ''We find processing visas for our visitors so much easier now. Previously one had to process papers at so many government offices just for one visa. Now it's so simple.''

The project's proponents would be as pleased to hear such glowing reviews. After all, Sheikha Lubna Al Qassimi, chairperson of the project's executive committee, had explained: ''The philosophy of this undertaking is based on automating public services, to permit the realisation of the e-government vision and to adopt the most advanced administrative policies.''

''This,'' she added, ''is designed to achieve the best combination of economic and technological links with the rest of the world and to make possible greater economic progress quickly and efficiently through the proper use of scientific processes.''

And just to make sure that all their efforts would not go to waste and the e-services would be used, the project's personnel had been busy doing awareness campaigns in newspapers, radio and television, as well as conducting training programmes.

E-services director Salem Khamis Al Shair, who is also a member of the e-government executive team, says that several other awareness and training programmes will be conducted to train users and ''to compel new ones to join up''.

''Once they realise the benefits,'' he says, ''I am sure they'll learn how to get to the portal and use the services.''

The project's managers have yet to determine just how many of Dubai's estimated 60,000 Internet users have visited their portal so far.

Automated techniques

Shair himself admits, ''The government knows that residents will take some time to get used to these automated techniques. And we also know that a section of our citizens cannot enjoy these facilities as Internet penetration is not 100 percent.''

Still, the goal is to have majority of Dubai's population to be using the e-services by the end of this year.

The Dubai government hopes that things will work smoothly and that its e-efforts will make its offices the models of efficiency and speed. This early though, Dubai's e-venture has already buoyed the confidence of other emirates to take a shot at enhancing their governance by going online.

The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, for instance, has announced plans for putting up its very own e-government and e-commerce portal. The Sharjah municipality, meanwhile, has been busy building a new-generation IT capability that will pave the way for its e-government services.

Dubai residents, however, are the most cyber-savvy among the UAE's 2.8 million people, of which only 200,000 or less than 10 percent are believed to have Internet access.

Pioneering position

This was not lost to Dubai's leaders, who apparently thought the emirate should show the way for the rest of the country.

As Gen Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister, said when he announced the initiative for an e-government almost two years ago: ''Dubai must attain a pioneering and distinguished position in business and in the new economy at the international level.''

Ordinary citizens like Dr. Mohammed Saleh agree. Saleh, a resident doctor at one of Dubai's leading hospitals, observes, ''I think Dubai is an ideal location to launch e-government facilities. Residents here enjoy the highest level of exposure to the Internet in the Arab world.

''But,'' he also notes, ''the implementation must be highly professional and accurate. (Or) else it will frustrate people and discourage them from using the facilities. It is true though that it will reduce the amount of work and ensure the free flow of information.''