10 hot sites for government transparency

Transparency is in. Secrets are out.

In the last 10 months, the public has started seeing government information that's never been available before--openness in the form of websites, blogs and social media sites across the Internet. This big change is still a work in progress. Many websites are just seeing the light of day after months of work and a few false starts.

But in the coming months, you will be seeing more information about government operations in a timely manner, a treasure trove of what's in federal databases. It's called transparency, and it's a driving force in the Obama administration.

There are a few exceptions. Classified information stays secret.

And there is no plan right now to make released Freedom of Information files available to everyone on government websites. The Congressional Research Service doesn't share the reports it writes for members of Congress either. But in these cases, citizen websites are stepping in to make this information available to you as they troll around and find it.

Our special report this week surveys what, in our opinion, are the 10 hottest sites for federal information. Not all of them are government-based, but every one of them is changing the game of government secrets forever.

Just be sure to let us know if we've missed any. - Judi