From e-voting in Switzerland to putting the Slovakian Treasury online: wiring Europe's notorious bureaucracy is set to be technology's new boom area and the big hitters are jostling for a slice.
By 2010, the European Commission wants the 15-nation bloc to be the most efficient group in the world by virtue of putting its public services on line - from driving licences to medical prescriptions to school curricula.
And the pool of business will grow next year when the European Union swells to 25 members.
At the EU's 2003 e-government conference, which closed late on Tuesday, top executives from heavyweights HP, IBM, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, EDS and SAP turned out to woo droves of ministers.
With sales to saturated private clients slowing, selling to the public sector is set to be what one executive called "a breath of fresh air".
Research firm IDC forecasts all public sector spending in Western Europe will hit $53 billion by 2005, much of it likely to be funnelled into IT.
"We see e-government as a very high development opportunity for us ... We've got irons in the fire and I'm here to lend my support," said Mr Michael Jordan, chief executive of leading US computer services provider Electronic Data Systems.
Hewlett Packard Co. Executive Vice President Ms Ann Livermore said HP last year turned $27 billion worth of revenues in Europe, the Middle East and Africa with 10-20 per cent of that coming from the burgeoning public sector.