Electronic voting could replace the traditional ballot box by 2006, according to a government report.

Online polling, postal votes and voting by telephone would replace ballot papers under the plan, put forward by the Information Select Committee.

Other projects could include voting through digital television and text messages.

The report said: "A programme to achieve successful implementation of e-voting is under way to ensure robust systems can be in place for an e-enabled general election after 2006."

Chancellor Gordon Brown has made £10 million a year available to develop e-voting pilot projects over the next two years in a move to encourage more people to vote amid fears about political apathy.

In May's local elections, voter turnout increased in areas where there was a chance to vote by post, at the weekend and electronically.

Robin Cook, Leader of the House of Commons, has put the proposals out for consultation and a paper, In the Service of Democracy, is available on the new e-democracy web site.

The plans propose action in two areas, e-participation and e-voting, which would allow the government to draw on the widest possible pool of experience, including those who have traditionally been excluded from the political and parliamentary process.

It is hoped the proposals will encourage younger people, recognised as being both more ready to use technology and more disconnected from the traditional political system, to participate.

Mr Cook said: "Information and communication technologies provide a means to increase public participation and we hope, with an active government policy, the potential benefits can be maximised."

James Crabtree, a spokesman for the Work Foundation's iSociety project, said: "This paper is an important step forward and puts Britain in pole position to capitalise on opportunities to use new technology to improve the workings of democracy.

"However, the Government needs to think bigger.

E-democracy needs to be more than an elastoplast for sickly politics.

Without genuine new thinking and changing the way politics is run, technology will not help to improve participation.

"If people don't want to vote and aren't interested in participating, the fact they could do it online will make no difference at all.

"Both e-participation and e-voting are critical to making new technology work in the service of democracy but the Government must now begin to think about other innovative ways of using the internet.

"Participation is a small part of what should be a much bigger debate.

"The consultation is now vital to make the case for an even more radical re-imagining of how technology could make democracy work better."

The success of e-democracy also depends, to a large extent, on other initiatives like UK Online, which is the Government's drive to bridge the "digital divide" and give everyone in the UK access to the internet by 2005.

The campaign, which was launched last year, includes projects like last year's Open House, organised by Age Concern and backed by Abbey National, to help older people get online.

The consultation period for the e-democracy proposals ends on October 31.

People can contribute to it either online at www.edemocracy.gov.uk, in writing to e-Democracy consultation, OGC/Office of the e-Envoy, PO Box 626, Norwich NR7 0ZN, by email to edemocracy@e-envoy.gsi.gov.uk or by fax 0207 276 3292.

www.edemocracy.gov.uk
www.theworkfoundation.com
www.ukonline.gov.uk
www.ageconcern.org.uk