Netherlands Picks ODF

(Updated 20 September) 

Just heard this news from the Netherlands: On behalf of the Dutch government, Frank Heemskerk, Minister State Secretary of Economic Affairs, announced today that ODF will be the standard for reading, publishing and the exchange of information for all governmental organisations. The deadline is January 2009. Heemskerk’s announcement is just one of several initiatives about the use of open standards and open source software in Dutch government.

Dutch announcement: Ministerie van Economische Zaken – Verplicht gebruik open standaarden bij overheid

More in Dutch: The Action Plan,  About Action Plan, Background article

Actually, I don’t speak Dutch (and for those who think Danes speak Dutch: No, we speak Danish!), but it’s close enough in writing that I almost can make sense of it. So big discaimer on the accuracy of the information above. See comments to this post.

I’m not sure what the exact difference between a minister and a state secretary in the Netherlands is, but assume both represent the sitting government.
I’m also not sure what they mean by an Action Plan, and what legal status such plan has.

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