The Internet explosion is affecting nearly everyone-- including state governments. While government often has the reputation for being a little behind the times, all 50 states have legislative Web sites that help citizens connect with their elected representatives and state government. For more on how state legislatures are using the Internet to reach out to constituents, click on more

Not surprisingly, volumes of Y2K information are floating in cyberspace, ranging from millennium sky-is-falling and head-in-the-sand ruminations from private citizens to Y2K web sites maintained by some of the public sector's top computer experts. In the final installment of our four-part Y2K series, stateline.org looks at some of the most helpful sites. For more information, click on more

To assure that their computer systems are Y2K-ready as of next New Year's Day, 43 states are spending more than $3.3 billion - a sum exceeding the combined gross national product of Guyana and Suriname in South America. Georgia is the leading Y2K spender, followed by California and New York. For more information, click on more

Web-surfing wine connoisseurs and e-pharmacy shoppers should check their state laws before they order a case of California Chardonnay or a vial of Viagra with the click of their computer mouse. Currently, liquor may be sold across state lines to residents in only 16 states without restrictions, such as limits on sales volumes. Twenty-one states prohibit direct-to-consumer sales of alcohol and six make it a felony. While no state has banned outright the importation of pharmaceuticals purchased online, some states require that online pharmacy sites be licensed by a state's pharmacy board to sell in that state. But the nature of online sales makes these areas hard to regulate. more