Government+information+sites

Sites created by and about the government of a certain country are there to inform and help the people living in or travelling to that country. They can also be used to raise awareness about certain issues. Government information sites are generally a reliable source of information for the interested parties as a lot of general knowledge or government data is posted for them to see. However, you can probably already see some issues arising from this.
 * [[image:GOVERNMENT_ISSUE_no_way_out.gif width="260" height="260" align="right"]]Government Information Sites**

All official government websites end in the domain name .gov [|UK Government] [|Saudi Government] [|The White House] [|Australian Government] [|National Aeronautics and Space Administration] (NASA) [|Lacunae detected in State Govt website] (article) [|Nigeria: Tackling Government's Ever Redundant Websites] (article)

However there are a couple of non-.gov sites, which still provide information and offer services such as online voting and e-petitioning. This can be helpful to citizens living overseas, or simply those without access to these facilities. It is convenient, and usually quite easy. However, how do you know your vote counts towards something? Will your petition be effective? [|Vote Online] [|E-Petitions] The World Bank has opened databases regarding the economies of countries around the world: [|WorldBank]

**Health and Travel Warnings** For the well-being of citizens in a country, governments can post health warnings to raise awareness and encourage good health and safety. This can be useful for travellers visiting a new country, or for day-to-day advice on how to lead a healthier lifestyle. In recent times, governments have also looked at more serious issues (examples below being the spread of HIV AIDS or bullying and internet safety) and created websites as a medium to inform and warn, as well as support those who are affected. [|World Health Organization] [|Current Travel Warnings] [|Government Issues Travel Warning via TV News] (video) [|Australian Government's travel advisory] [|Healthy Active Australia] [|Aids] [|Government Launches Anti-Bullying Website] (article) [|stopbullying.gov] [|FBI Children Internet Safety]

British government film from the 1970s educating the people about sanitation care

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**Government Use of Social Media** As the use of social media sites is becoming increasingly popular, governments have turned to these often in times of crisis and disaster in order to gain or post helpful information. Affected people can post any useful information they may have. However, the issue with this, as with social networking sites in general, is the integrity of the data. As opposed to official government sites, anyone and everyone can post on social media sites. The data posted regarding specific people for example, also plays with their privacy as well as their security.

[|Flock to Facebook for flood updates] [|Social Media Carries Risk At Disaster-Relief Time] (article) [|US Army on Twitter] [|American Red Cross on Facebook] [|Red Cross: Facebook, Twitter becoming popular tools during disasters] (article) [|5 Ways Government Works Better With Social Media] [|Spacebook] (article)

**Environmental Information and Warnings** As we are becoming more and more concerned about our environment, governments too use their sites to again raise awareness and educate their people. Some may also provide local information regarding the weather and post warnings where this may be hazardous.

[|Environment Agency UK] [|Environment Canada] [|Planet Hazard]