The government has closed almost two-thirds of its web sites as it moves information onto its central site Directgov.

In 2006 Sir David Varney's review of public service transformation found that there were 1,499 government web sites, many with overlapping or conflicting information.

The government has since revised this number up to 1,700 after departments carried out a number of web site reviews.

In a letter to parliament, Mark Lund, chief executive of the Central Office of Information, wrote:

"Of the 1,700 web sites identified by departments by 31 December 2009, 907 were closed with a further 479 still open but committed to be closed."

The intention is to make Directgov the single point of contact for all public information and services, enabling citizens to find what they need easily.

The project reflects the vision of the Transformational Government agenda, which aims to centre public services around the citizen rather than vice versa.

Since launching in April 2004, the service has gone from being a purely online offering to being available on teletext and digital TV - accessible on Freeview and Sky.