Tony Blair today officially appointed Andrew Pinder - a former IT director at the Inland Revenue - as e-envoy, giving him four years to ensure universal access to the internet and to put all government services online.
Mr Pinder said he will be dealing with "an industrial revolution in the civil service and the wider economy" as the UK tries to establish itself as an internet heavyweight.
A former civil servant, Mr Pinder first took over as temporary e-envoy when Alex Allan resigned from the post in October, citing personal reasons. Like Mr Allan before him, Mr Pinder will concentrate on moving the government itself into the internet age.
He said: "We want to be customer focused. It's not just about putting a form online, it's about changing the business practices that lie behind that form."
He admits that the transformation is still in the early stages, but defended the government's record up to now. On Friday the Cabinet office launched a secure online transaction system, Government Gateway, a project that he pointed out had come in on time and under budget. The gateway will form the basis for future online transactions between businesses, members of the public and government.
Mr Pinder spent 18 years in the Inland Revenue, becoming the director of IT, before moving to the private sector as the director of operations and technology at Prudential Corporation. He also worked as the European head of operations and technology at Citibank investment bank.
Since 1999, he has been a partner in both an internet startup, Willregister.com, and a small venture capital firm.
His experience within the turbulent internet startup culture has made him sensitive to the needs of small businesses, he said, and he hopes to make it easier for small companies to communicate with government.
He also hopes that the civil service will be able to learn from the internet economy. "We will see some slow changes in the civil service. It will take a long time, but then to turn around a big company like IBM or Ford takes a long time.
"This week we had permanent secretaries coming to listen to Michael Dell speak about his experiences. So there is a willingness to change within the civil service," Mr Pinder added.
Welcoming Mr Pinder's decision to take on the job fulltime, Mr Blair said: "We are determined to meet the goals of our UK Online campaign, putting this country at the forefront of the knowledge economy. Andrew can play a leading role in achieving that."
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