This dissertation examines how governmental and civil society institutions in Mongolia use the Internet, and whether or not these institutions benefit politically and socially from that use. This study draws its theoretical framework from three main perspectives: 1) digital divide; 2) digital democracy; and 3) post-communism. Prevalent patterns and common features of 157 web sites of Mongolian civil society and governmental organizations are analyzed according to the information traffic patterns of allocution, consultation, conversation and registration proposed by Bordewijk and Van Kaam (1984) and suggested by Van Dijk (2000). Furthermore, institutional use of the Internet, the issues of the digital divide and the post-communistic media characteristics are discussed based on data gathered from 23 qualitative in-depth interviews conducted in the Summer of 2005. The study finds that currently Mongolian institutions use the web mostly for information distribution purposes. Conversation and registration patterns involving greater interactivity occur less frequently than allocution and consultation patterns. Diaspora, interest groups, and to a certain extent media web sites show different typologies scoring higher on the conversation, and registration indexes than more traditional institutions like government, research and education institutions. This situation is also supported by interview data showing that less-established Mongolian institutions are gaining more prominence in policy making by using the Internet. The practice of Mongolian institutions shows little indication of rational discussion of policy issues on the Internet, especially when discussion is attempted on the web sites of government institutions. This situation appears to support Dean’s (2003) view of the Net as a “zero-institution” accommodating conflicting networks with no normative claim for democratic participation rather than a public sphere where the policy networks of government officials merge with the social spaces of ordinary people.