I.A. Tsoukalas is a professor in the Department of Informatics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.






Leo G. Anthopoulos is a PhD candidate, Department of Informatics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece



The Information Society is a vision for European countries, concerning the transformation of society, to one which is based on information and telecommunication technologies (ICT). The route to the Information Society follows national strategic plans controlled by national agencies and by the European Information Society Directorate General.

The Greek government developed the "Information Society" Action Plan [13] since 2002, covering four primary levels of ICT development:

• education and culture
• citizen's service and improvement of quality of life
• growth and employment and
• telecommunications.

The targets of the Greek Information Society Action Plan meet European main targets in creating infrastructures for public administration, in developing citizen-centered digital public services, in reducing telecommunication costs and training of citizens in IT skills.

The E-City Model
ICT infrastructures and applications installed in a local community and manipulated by the local public administration would create the proper environment where citizens meet Information-Society targets. We imagine the e-City as a local community where ICT projects transform it to an area of improved services:

• In business and employment: Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) would apply e-business platforms like ERP and CRM systems, would use broadband networks and wireless hotspots to promote e-commerce, automate transactions with local government and offer improved services to their customers.
• In public administration: citizens would have access to all public information, services and resources through multiple communication channels (central offices for public access, one-stop e-government portals, mobile phones and info kiosks). Citizens would be authenticated easily with a citizen smart card or a PIN given by a local administration and could navigate public resources and services easily. Citizens would be served with one visit by fully automated batch processes or by executives' groupware systems [1], avoiding corruption and unjustifiable delays. Public administration would be measured and assessed while evaluation results would be available to citizens thus promoting public confidence.
• In the town: Citizens would be able to obtain all possible information about the town from anyplace, through multiple communication channels. An online city guide associated with an e-government one-stop shop -- where all public documents and resources would be available, and with intelligent transport and GIS systems providing information about traffic, parking places and routing schedules of mass transportation -- will make citizens part of a virtual space, where all information would be free for use.
• At home: a metropolitan area network (MAN) would be installed under the responsibility of the local administration, giving access to all buildings in town. A primary fiber-optic network and a supplementary wireless network would offer voice and data services at a minimum cost for citizens and for the public administration and would support intelligent in-house applications. In-house systems for instance, could send emergency notifications to public agencies. Citizens could apply to entertainment services such as video-on-demand and citizens with disabilities could be served by local agencies and tele-care systems.
• In the local economy: training programs on IT skills would be organized under the responsibility of the local administration. Regional telework places would serve the unemployed and start-up companies, offering work places and equipment at a minimum cost. Finally a local e-marketplace would help the promotion of local products.
• In education and culture: "local cultural products" would be digitized and offered through digital museums and multimedia collections. Cultural events would be transmitted real-time through broadband networks. Virtual classes and lessons organized by local community teachers could offer extra support to students and employees, promoting local educational