Data.gov

Прочел заметку в Metro. В очередной раз британцы собираются "впервые в мире" сделать нечто, уже успешно работающее в США.

OS Map data could be free on internet

Ordnance Survey map data could become available free of charge online. The information about electoral and local authority boundaries, postcode areas and mapping would be made available under the government proposals. ' We are determined to be the first government in the world to open up public information in a way that is far more accessible to the general public,' prime minister Gordon Brown said yesterday.

Послал в газету комментарий, но его не напечатали.

In regards to OS Map data could be free on internet (18.11.09):

Mr. Brown says that 'we are determined to be the first government in the world to open up public information in a way that is far more accessible to the general public.' I hate to disappoint him, but he is late: in May 2009 Americans created Data.gov in order to achieve exactly what the prime minister described. Also, Google has launched google.com/publicdata search powered by World Bank data.

So, best case scenario, UK government will be the second in the world to open up public information. But that is fine: it could be much easier and cheaper to be the second, because you can learn on somebody else's mistakes.