Utah is the most tech-savvy state in the nation, a study released Wednesday showed.

The Western state was chosen based on a survey of state CIOs and senior executives from across the nation. Conducted by the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory group, the 2008 Digital States Survey covers a wide range of areas from infrastructure to online applications and new Web 2.0 technologies provided to residents.

This year's survey also included for the first time sustainability efforts, especially in the area of environmentally sensitive IT.

"Since our inaugural survey in 1997, we've seen a steady advance in the quality of technology solutions implemented by state governments for their citizens," Cathilea Robinett, executive VP of the center, said in a statement. "The bar is constantly being raised by public sector technology leaders creating topnotch services."

The list of top 10 tech-savvy states, in order, is Utah, Michigan, Virginia, Arizona, California, Washington, Kentucky, South Dakota, Maryland, and Tennessee and Pennsylvania, which tied for 10th place.

The Center for Digital Government is a division of e.Republic, a national publishing, event, and research company focused on IT for state and local governments and educational institutions. Verizon Communications sponsored this year's state survey.

While the center is praising the states for their progress in IT use, the Government Accountability Office has found the federal government's information security efforts lacking. The GAO found a number of challenges facing the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, including the ability to create warnings that are actionable and timely. US-CERT does not consistently issue warnings and other notifications that would be useful to its customers.