Almost all government services earmarked for electronic delivery systems will be fully online by the end of next year, the Cabinet Office has said.

Just 26 of the 657 government services identified as being suitable for upgrading will not be ready by 2006.

In its annual performance report on the roll-out of e-services by Whitehall ministries, the department said that 96 per cent of services will be available electronically by the end of 2005.

And three quarters are already available via the internet, it added.

Describing a "positive" outlook for future developments, the report said the flagship Directgov website is now regularly receiving 150,000 unique users per week.

In addition, 80 per cent of users say Directgov gives convenient access to public services and information.

"These results show that departments have responded well to the breadth of the online delivery challenge set by the prime minister in 2000," said Ian Watmore, head of the e-government unit.

"Over the next few years the focus will be to improve take-up of these government services, particularly those that really touch people's lives."

The focus for Whitehall is now expected to shift from rolling out new services online to ensuring services deliver what customers want.

Some services are to be excluded from electronic delivery for "policy reasons".

Other schemes will be introduced in a phased timetable "to mitigate project risk" while reform projects need to be completed before other services are available online.