In defining the state of the art of E-Government, EGOV 2002 was aimed at breaking new ground in the development of innovative solutions in this impor­ tant field of the emerging Information Society. To promote this aim, the EGOV conference brought together professionals from all over the globe. In order to obtain a rich picture of the state of the art, the subject matter was dealt with in various ways: drawing experiences from case studies, investigating the outcome from projects, and discussing frameworks and guidelines. The large number of contributions and their breadth testify to a particularly vivid discussion, in which many new and fascinating strands are only beginning to emerge. This begs the question where we are heading in the field of E-Government. It is the intention of the introduction provided by the editors to concentrate the wealth of expertise presented into some statements about the future development of E-Government.