A Web site intended to simplify the process to identify and apply for government grants was officially launched on Tuesday. Grants.gov is one of the administration's two dozen E-government initiatives aimed at exploiting Internet technologies to better serve citizens. The interagency project was headed by the Department of Health and Human Services, which awards more than half of all federal grants.

HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said the government is helping to level the playing field for organizations less familiar with federal grant programs so that they, too, can identify and apply for appropriate grants by putting relevant information in one place.

Grants.gov contains information on more than 800 available grant programs involving all 26 federal grant-making agencies that award more than $360 billion in grant funds annually. So far, however, application packages have been posted to Grants.gov only by the Education, Energy, Justice and Health and Human Services departments.

The site provides information in a standardized format across agencies and includes a Find Grant Opportunities feature to help applicants find potential funding opportunities. It also contains an Apply for Grants section that simplifies the application process by letting applicants download, complete and submit applications for specific grant opportunities from any federal grant-making agency.

HHS got help to design the Web site from organizations that apply for and receive federal grants. Besides HHS, other agencies partnering to develop the site were Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, and Transportation, as well as the National Science Foundation.

The Web address for the site is http://www.grants.gov.