State of Portuguese local web: empirical evidence about digital divide between regions

In order to correspond to their citizens' demands, municipalities have promoted electronic government through the use of ICT. However, this technological adoption is not always carried out homogeneously when comparing some territories with others, causing what are known as "digital divides". Thus, the objectives of the study consisted on measuring, through the content analysis of the 308 municipal websites of Portugal, the quality of these electronic services, to then detect interregional differences and point out some predictive factors of the state of Portuguese local network. From the instrumental point of view, a "General Web Quality Index" was designed, that served to specify the national performance level, which was close to correct, as well as to conclude that the country's continental coastline, the most populated, rich and developed area, is precisely where e-government is best implemented.