4/1/2008 -- Using a series of Web 2.0 tools, Cisco Systems this week made two announcements about its public sector work.

Cisco announced with partner PacStar the availability of the PacStar 6000 series of unified communications enterprise and deployable solutions for the military.

The PacStar units are designed to help the military achieve its goal of moving all systems that connect directly into the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN) to Internet Protocol. Based on Cisco's Unified Communication system and PacStar's IQ-Core software, the units will deliver voice, video and data communications to U.S. forces worldwide, company officials said. The PacStar 6000 units are housed in a rugged case designed to meet Mil-Std 810F requirements for transportation, vibration, shock and temperature.

"The mandate that the military move to everything over IP is helping to modernize today's battlefield and provides our warfighters with unparalleled access to information in real time, over almost any type of device," said Robert Frisbee, PacStar's CEO.

In making the announcement, Cisco's public sector group used a Web 2.0 tool, a social media release, to issue the press release. A social media release provides relevant content in a hyperlinked format and uses social bookmarking and RSS to provide background data and updates.

Borrowing from Web 2.0's use of avatars and virtual worlds, on Tuesday at the FOSE conference Cisco unveiled a virtual character, Fred Federal, to promote Cisco's initiative to empower the government workforce through technologies such as wide-area applications services, unified communications, collaboration and security solutions.

Fred, a program manager for the fictional Government Joint Emergency Task Force (G-JET) in Silver Spring, Md., is a typical government worker. He acts as a liaison to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Defense Department, working on weather and seismic emergencies. Fred has his own MySpace page and his own YouTube video.

Fred and his wife Felicia Federal will be at Cisco's FOSE booth (1701) throughout the three-day conference. --Trudy Walsh, courtesy of GCN.com