NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release
	Contact: Lara Ramsburg Communications Director The Office of Governor Joe Manchin (304) 558-2000 Peter Fairhurst General Manager WV.gov (304) 414-0265 x 103 pete@wvinteractive.com

CHARLESTON, W.Va – September 22, 2008 – The recently unveiled West Virginia Education portal (http://www.education.wv.gov) has been declared one of the best education Web sites in the nation by the Centers for Digital Government and Education. The new portal was presented the 2008 Best of Web Special Award and the 2008 Digital Education Achievement Award based on its innovative approach to integrating more than 900 education resources into one centralized starting point located within the state’s official Web site, http://www.wv.gov.

“We were very pleased to finally see a state develop a comprehensive education component into their overall state Web site strategy," said Cathilea Robinett, Executive Director of the Center for Digital Government. "The West Virginia Education Portal takes the right approach to providing diverse online education resources to West Virginia’s citizens.”

The Best of Web Awards and Digital Education Achievement Awards are national programs that recognize outstanding agency and department Web sites and applications that enhance information interactions, transactions, and services. The awards were presented by the Centers for Digital Government and Education, which are national research and advisory institutes on information technology policies and best practices in government and education, during the 21st Century Jobs Cabinet meeting on September 19 in Charleston.

“West Virginia is the first state in the nation to develop a centralized online resource for families to seamlessly access the numerous educational offerings in the state,” said First Lady Gayle Manchin. “These awards highlight the commitment of the state of West Virginia to improving the educational opportunities for our citizens and educators.”

The education portal is the result of the work of the 21st Century Jobs Cabinet, which was formed in 2006 to promote a seamless education system that connects every level of education from early childhood to graduate study. It encompasses job training and lifelong learning to both support and enhance West Virginia's job creation and economic development efforts.

The West Virginia Education Portal was built without using taxpayer dollars by leveraging an innovative public-private partnership between the state and West Virginia Interactive, a Charleston-based subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV). Additional services are slated to be released in the upcoming months that will further streamline citizen access to government services and save taxpayer dollars.

About WV.gov
WV.gov is the official Web site of the state of West Virginia (http://www.wv.gov) and is the result of an innovative public-private partnership between the state and West Virginia Interactive. West Virginia Interactive works with government agencies to build and manage interactive online services and is a subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC.

About NIC
NIC manages more eGovernment services than any provider in the world. The company helps government communicate more effectively with citizens and businesses by putting essential services online. NIC provides eGovernment solutions for 2,900 state and local agencies that serve more than 69 million people in the United States. Additional information is available at www.nicusa.com.

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