If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, then the Khabarovsk regional administration is infatuated with U.S. President Barack Obama.
Or at least his web site.
The far eastern region has launched a tender worth 25 million rubles ($880,000) to design a new web site that is a close replica of the web site for the U.S. White House.
The tender, announced on Zakupki.gov.ru, the web site for state purchases, explicitly specifies that "the design of the portal must be based on the design of www.whitehouse.gov." Some adaptation is nevertheless required, because the color scheme must be based on Khabarovsk's official colors, blue and green.
Whitehouse.gov is adorned with a huge picture of Obama. The Khabarovsk tender does not specify whether he should be replaced with a photo of Governor Vyacheslav Shport or some other official.
The revamp is required to unite under one roof the currently disjointed web sites that host the region's two dozen departments and local branches of state agencies, the tender's description said.
Results of the tender will be available in mid-August. Neither Khabarovsk nor U.S. officials have commented on whether the proposed web site might infringe on copyright law.
