Taking a page from Gen Y, the Defense Department has redesigned its website with 18- to 24-year-olds in mind. The redesigned site--Defense.gov--incorporates social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter.

"We need to embrace these technologies," Price Floyd, principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for public affairs, told the American Forces Press Service, the Defense Department's news service. "We need to use them because that's what the young people use these days....If we just stick to the traditional ways of communicating, we leave out a huge portion of society."

The site is modeled after WhiteHouse.gov, and gives visitors the opportunity to submit questions for the Defense secretary, the chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff and other top officials. DoD also wants commanders to launch their own social networking sites.

It looks like Government 2.0 is more than just a dream for government: now, far-flung agencies, and even those known for secrecy--like DoD--are buying into this new wave of communications, too.

For more on DoD's new website:
- check out this nextgov.com article