Instead of turning straight to using sites like Facebook and Twitter, Di Maio said government organisations should establish what Web 2.0 option best suits its employees.

"There are already communities that exist before government...the problem becomes should governments develop new communities or build upon existing," he said. "Before you do anything, before you create your own Facebook page, figure out if there are already existing communities out there."

Di Maio pointed to positive examples of where Gov 2.0 has been used in a positive way, citing the UK, Netherlands, France and Germany as having governments that have leveraged web 2.0 tools at one stage.

"It's outside the comfort zone of many countries," he said. "The inflexion point is enabling employees to create the context where employees are being rewarded rather than punished for using Facebook sites."

Just as email and case management tools have been used by employees to better perform on their job, Di Maio said social media sites allow government employees to do their job more effectively.