The United States Small Business Administration's (SBA) Business Gateway Program has launched the first government-sponsored online community built specifically for small businesses.

The address for the new web initiative is www.community business.gov.

The Business.gov Community, which supports the White House's mission to create a transparent and connected democracy, aims to provide small business owners, potential entrepreneurs, bloggers, and the government with a place to discuss and share information about starting and running a successful business.

The new community is an extension of Business.gov, which is managed by the SBA in partnership with 21 federal agencies. The partnership is known as the Business Gateway.

In addition to an exchange of ideas through forums and blogs, Business.gov Community offers advanced tools for navigating the labyrinth of government policies and laws that impact the small business owner.

The website also keeps business owners informed of the various resources and opportunities made available by the government.

Along with supplying a "home" where users can share their expertise and unique experiences, the site likewise gives small business owners the chance to provide direct input into Business.gov and voice how the government and the online community can better serve them.

In essence, the "community" is divided into three areas:

.. Discussion Topics — Members ask and answer questions as well as discuss business issues.

.. Idea Exchanges — Members share their ideas concerning ways to improve and refine the pages on the Business.gov website.

..Expert Insight and News — This area features articles on timely business topics.

According to Nancy Sternberg, program manager of the Business Gateway, "Over the past year, we have significantly expanded our efforts to engage with small business owners by giving them easy access to the information they need to run their businesses.

"The launch of the Business.gov Community represents a new milestone," she continued. "Through the application of Web 2.0 technologies, we hope to unite small business owners, industry experts, and government representatives to take the program to a new level of collaboration."

Over the next few months, the Business.gov Community will expand to include additional features that address specific user interests and provide access to a wider pool of government and Business.gov partner resources.

The Business Gateway Program was designed to offer innovative information services to the small business community. These services save time and money, encourage shareholder participation, and enable collaboration across all key levels of government.