Next year's funding for the Electronic Russia program to boost information technology will be cut considerably, Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister Andrei Sharonov said at a news conference Monday.

He did not say by how much.

Communications Minister Leonid Reiman said at the same conference that the program "is in a good condition and is ready for further development."

The program began in January and is scheduled to continue through 2010 with total funding of 76.15 billion rubles ($2.4 billion) -- 51 percent of which is coming from the federal budget, 30 percent from regional budgets and 19 percent from private sources.

The main tasks for this year are working out the fundamental documents defining e-Russia and holding tenders for private companies to participate in the program.

E-Russia's projects include creating an Internet portal for the government's economic and finance bodies, computerizing the country's schools and creating an online tax payment system.

Sharonov said that e-Russia is important for the Economic Development and Trade Ministry itself.

"The program will allow for paperwork to be conducted electronically, make the government more open toward businesses and boost cooperation between the citizens and the government," he said.