Editorial of the Special Issue on Digital Cities

The research on the use and exploitation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), as well as the corresponding practice, initially for a long time were mainly at the firm level. It was aiming at finding new ways of using and exploiting ICT in firms, in order to increase the efficiency of their business processes and their coordination, to support decision making and to enhance interaction with their external environment (e.g. customers, suppliers, partners, etc.), and also at investigating their critical success factors, impacts and business value (e.g. Arvanitis and Loukis, 2009; Loukis et al., 2008; Barua et al., 2004; Melville et al., 2004; Wan, 2007). However, in mid 90s ‟ an interest is gradually developed, driven to some extent by the emergence and growing penetration of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW), in the use of ICT for improving various aspects of everyday life, mainly through the development of network infrastructures and applications for supporting the communication, collaboration and in general interaction among regional communities. In many cities around the world are constructed network infrastructures offering to public organizations, businesses and houses high speed connectivity, and on top of them are developed applications/e-services aiming at both economic objectives (such as enhanced competitiveness and growth) and social objectives (such as higher quality of life, better services to various groups, social networking and inclusion, environmental protection, etc.). According to Ishida et al. (2002) these initiatives „shift our view of Internet use from one side (business) to another (everyday life)‟