“We have constantly renewed the portal in technical terms, but this is one of the changes that users will certainly notice,” says Riho Oks, a developmental advisor to the State Information Systems Development Centre.  “The state portal helps people to find the information or services that they need.”
The technical capacities of the portal will help in developing new E-services on the basis of the X-tee data communications layer and the ID cards which are used by Estonians.  Institutions will no longer have the bear the cost of creating technological solutions to underpin services.  The portal will welcome those institutions which wish to offer notification services to citizens or enable the submission of electronic forms.  Citizens will be given the chance to submit forms and applications to state institutions and to receive E-mail or SMS notification from them.
The designer of the new system is Markus Kasemaa, and funding for the portal came from the European Union’s structural funds.  The portal is administered by the Estonian Informatics Centre.
Most of the services on the “eesti.ee” portal are targeted at local residents.  More than 20 national databases offer a chance for people to check their personal information.  The portal also makes it possible for clients to receive an @eesti.ee E-mail address, to send official forms to state and local government institutions, to sign documents digitally, etc.  The portal also offers access to other information systems such as e-PRIA and the Forest Register.
The “eesti.ee” portal is the newest result of the E-citizen project which began back in 2002.

Source:  Estonian Informatics Centre