USE-ME.GOV is an EU research and development project design to support and encourage the access to new e-government services at any time and anywhere through the use of mobile communications and Internet technologies. The long term goal is to contribute to a Next-Generation Open Service Platform for mobile users that can be shared by networked authorities and institutions (e.g. on a regional scale) in terms of technical infrastructure, information (content) as well as a framework for commercial exploitation. The Open Service Platform will comply with high-level requirements that impact, positively on the overall cost of deployment, such as sharing of information (content), independence from commercial off-the-shelf software, interoperability and scalability. USE-ME.GOV services will address specific user needs, with different background, age and interests, overcome bureaucratic barriers, enhance quality of life for citizen and help private companies to streamline their business activities. They will feature a high level of usability and user friendliness, allowing for easy search of information considering location, context and user interests. Services will be easy to configure and deploy, not depending on expensive software-hardware products or demanding technological skills, allowing for shared use of technical resources and content. The USE-ME.GOV service platform will be built on Web Service technology, allowing for communication between components on different platforms based on different standards. Open standards will be applied to service interface descriptions, location service protocols, service request protocols, privacy policies, security models and to data formats such as for geographical and location information. The USE-ME.gOV project will support authorities entering the mobile market by providing an open source platform that enables authorities: to share common modules with other departments or authorities (for example subscription, alerting components), to secure development and operation by open source transparency, to attract further mobile operator independent of respective interfaces and to estimate efforts, outcome and benefits in advance.
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