A week of Government-meets-Technology events in Washington kicked off yesterday with the Gov 2.0 Expo, a showcase of innovative projects relating to the public sector.

Twenty presenters took the stage to deliver 5-minute, rapid-fire introductions to their work. The presenters were selected from over 200 submissions. At the Expo, they competed for recognition via a live mobile text poll, with winners awarded in five topic areas.

The Expo and the related Gov 2.0 Summit taking place today and tomorrow in downtown D.C. are put on by tech publisher and conference impresario Tim O'Reilly, who has been a leading champion for the government as a platform for data and applications. O'Reilly, who is credited with coining the term "Web 2.0," sees potential to harness the government's collective intelligence for both public- and private-sector uses, and the Gov 2.0 Expo and Summit have attracted a crowd from across the country to exchange ideas and search for solutions.

The five winners of Tuesday's Expo audience vote were, by category:

Government as a Process
Peter Koht, "City of Santa Cruz Offers Blueprint for Solving CA Budget Crisis with Social Media"

Government as a Provider
Merrick Schaefer, "txts 4 Africa"

Government as a Protector
Jeff Nigbur, "Utah Department of Public Safety Media Portal"

Government as a Peacekeeper
Rita King, "Digital Diplomacy: Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds"

Government as a Partner
Melissa Jordan,"Transit 2.0 at BART.gov" 

More information on the Gov 2.0 Expo is available at http://www.gov2expo.com/gov2expo2009.