"Iraq was devastated by the former regime and we are grateful for Italy's presence as part of the multinational forces helping to restore peace," Rashad Omar, minister of Science and Technology in the new Iraqi government, told a news conference.

"That is why today's agreement on information technology is of vital importance for us to create an infrastructure in the first stage of reconstruction," he said after signing a deal with Italy's Technical Innovation Minister Lucio Stanca.

Under Saddam Hussein's rule, the Internet was banned and Iraqis were not allowed to use mobile phones. Omar said the country now had access to the Internet, which was not yet widely used, and to mobiles.

Italy aimed to help construct a modern public administration in Iraq by means of an e-Government Intranet network by providing technical and financial aid. Omar said communications in Iraq were very primitive and the country was far behind the West in information technology. Italy had proposed the information technology project.