PlanetGov.com joins crowd

"Start-up targeting all of civic life"

The list of Internet companies bringing government services and information online grew longer Wednesday with the launch of PlanetGov.com.

PlanetGov.com made its official debut after weeks of revolving around the site, thanks to the hiring of some high-tech company officials and high-profile journalists, including Mike Causey, the longtime writer of The Washington Post's Federal Diary.

"Our sole focus is on serving the government and military professional," said Steve Baldwin, chief executive officer at Fairfax, Va.-based PlanetGov. "Providing content that is relevant to their professional lives through people like Mike Causey, who for years has been the most credible source of information for what's relevant to them, and he's on our team."

PlanetGov is designed to function as a "virtual online community center" for current and former government employees, according to the World Wide Web site. The portal will include news reports, online shopping and original columns and features.

The company also plans to sell IT-related products to the federal government through a number of contracts including: the National Institutes of Health Electronic Computer Store II, Army PC3, Bureau of Prisons Net 2000 and more.