Australia take note... even Tatarstan is e-beating you!

One of the places of the world I am fascinated in is the Russian republic of Tatarstan. Homeland to the famous Tatar people, it's a Eurasian crossroads - Muslim, Asian, European, Middle Eastern, Northern all at the same time.

Now there is yet another feature of this unique place deserving of praise. In a drive to cut bureaucracy and corruption Tatarstan has introduced a new Internet-based system for streamling citizens' interaction with officialdom. "Infomats", devices that look like an oversized cash machine, appeared in the streets of Tatarstan's capital Kazan about a year ago allowing access to a whole range of government services, from applying for a passport to paying a parking fine. The "infomats" not only reduce the time citizens have to spend queuing in government offices, they also make it more difficult for corrupt officials to demand special "fees" - or bribes - for their services.

Thanks to an abundance of oil, Tatarstan is one of the most developed parts of the Russian Federation. And instead of squandering the spoils, the Tatar government decided to pour some of the profits from the oil trade into an ambitious e-government programme, including the "informats" and broadband coverage.

Like everywhere, there has been reluctance and resistance to such a groundbreaking system. Tatarstan's farsighted president Rustam Minnikhanov explains: "This system of electronic government differs from how things used to be. And maybe the most important thing for us was to change our employees' mentality so that they stopped being afraid of electronics and saw the efficiency of the system."

Tatarstan has also used this as an opportunity to encourage growth in the local IT industry, providing a great long-term, post-oil investment and diversification of the local economy. Local firms developed the software for the ambitious project. A few of them are based in a brand new IT park in Kazan, open since last October.

The brains behind this push into IT include Tatarstan's Deputy Prime Minister and Communications Minister, Nikolay Nikiforov - at 28, already a former IT entrepreneur who has moved into government. He is working on increasing broadband coverage for Kazan's 1.1 million inhabitants, from 50% at present to 70% next year (more coverage than most Australian cities). The city is also the first place in Russia and neighbouring countries to roll out a next-generation broadband wireless network - LTE.

Australia take note! You are being left in the dust by places like Tatarstan that have the right mind and vision to invest in IT for the present and future, rather than solely relying on the monoculture and short-term gain of natural resources.