Douglas Alexander has hit back at allegations that he is a technophobe, in his first interview since he was appointed e-minister earlier this month.
Mr Alexander, the MP for Paisley South, who has taken over the legacy of government broadband grief from Patricia Hewitt, said he had been interested in the internet for years.
"My first summer job as a student, working for a computer manufacturer, gave me a sense of just how central computers would be to commerce in the years to come," he said.
"Like everyone else I've seen the internet transform the way we stay in touch (I have a sister who lives abroad) and the way we shop. (I actually first viewed my present home online)."
The minister, who was a surprise appointment given his prior lack of involvement with digital media, also insisted he was a regular internet user and that he had been instrumental in the government's use of email and text messaging during the election campaign.
"I've had a constituency website for a couple of years, and in my role as Labour's general election campaign co-ordinator, I worked to ensure our e-campaigning was central to the election campaign," said Mr Alexander. In the future, continued Mr Alexander, internet campaigning will grow in significance.
He also confirmed that the government was looking at the prospect of electronic voting, possibly for the next election as a means to combat voter apathy.
"The Office of the e-Envoy is looking at the issue of policies for e-democracy, of which one track is electronic voting. Already, several pilots of electronic voting and electronic counting have been carried out in local government and the results published."
What is apparent from the interview however, is that Mr Alexander is very on-message yet does have some rough grasp of all key policy in the area of e-commerce.
He rejected the opportunity to berate BT and Oftel for the broadband roll out fiasco, instead preferring to sit on the fence: "We are witnessing the start of a new market here, and we should not expect it to be problem free."
Asked to define 'broadband', a definition his predecessor often got quite muddled about, Mr Alexander demonstrated that he had an elementary grasp of the key issues at stake - at least something on which to build, for someone who is seen to be as bright as Mr Alexander.
"ADSL, cable modems and broadband fixed wireless access are likely to be the most prominent technologies in the medium-term," said the new e-minister.
Regarding the contentious RIP Bill, Mr Alexander remained on message, calling people that refuse to hand over decryption keys "criminals" and insisting they will be prosecuted, and could face two years in prison for not complying.
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22.06.2001: The e-minister and the e-interview
12.06.2001: Alexander replaces Hewitt as e-minister
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