Russian president demands computer know-how of civil servants

Failure to embrace technology could cost government officials their jobs

Russian civil servants will have to know how to use a computer or will be out of a job, according to the country's new president.

President Dmitry Medvedev, 42, likened computer skills to literacy, saying the government doesn't hire people who can't read or write and it shouldn't hire those who can't use a computer.

Dragging the bureaucracy into the high-tech age will also help combat corruption, said the president.

If civil servants are proficient with computers, more of the government's work can be carried out online, which would increase transparency and make corruption more difficult to hide, said Medvedev.

The president also wants the government to help increase Internet access and consider compensating students for their Internet use.

Only 12 per cent of people in Russia age 15 or older are online, according to a 2007 study by research company comScore.

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