Research Note: Italian Parties’ Web Sites in the 2006 Elections

This research analyzes the web sites of Italian national parties in the 2006 parliamentary elections. Overall, 27 sites were studied along three main lines of inquiry: information, participation, and professionalism. Results show that most Italian parties have reached a good proficiency level in informing their on-line users and in adopting sophisticated production techniques, but are still far from maximizing the internet’s potential for participation and mobilization. Overall, the data offer only partial support to the hypothesis of ‘normalization’ of cyberspace.