Online Citizens - Does the Net Add Something New to the Local Public and Local Politics?

The article discusses the skeptical view that on-line forms of politial \udparticipation have thus far had only little importance for democracy. \udBased on an analysis of the interplay between the supply of, and the \uddemands for, e-tools for political informaiton and deliberation at the \udlocal level in Denmark, it is concluded that the skeptical view is con-\udfirmed to some extent; however, It is also shown that something more \ud- as well as something new - is added to the local political public, both \udin terms of the citizens involved and the topics discussed. Further-\udmore, the case study indicates that online deliberations have had a \udnumber of minor effects on local political opinionformation and deci-\udsion-making. Thus, the overall conclusion is that a local forum of \uddigital deliberations has the potential to form an alternative channel \udfor raising issues and forming a vehicle for involving more citizens \udin politics, including citizens with weak resources