Residents in and around Oulu can now make use of the first version of the free personal home page and email services provided through Oulu City’s municipal web portal called ‘OmaOulu’. Access to this new service is via www.omaoulu.fi. The OmaOulu (‘Own Oulu’) service is in Finnish.

The OmaOulu idea was conceived in 2005 when Oulu celebrated its 400^th anniversary. It became a City project and now offers every Oulu resident an online facility including 200 MB for email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ), document storage, photographs and a blog.

The home page can be customised with links to access the City’s existing online services and information such as news, bulletins, public service vacancies, telephone numbers, school menus, maps, online forms and various Council meeting agendas and minutes. There is also a link to Kaleva’s online news and a calendar. The ultimate goal is to allow residents to customise access to the City’s online services behind one single registration and password. 

At least initially the OmaOulu service is open for everyone, so being a resident of Oulu is not a requirement. Internet banking login is required for online user registration. If assistance is required, the first training session takes place in the City Library on 5th June.  

Kaleva ran a brief user test of the OmaOulu site and found the site itself to be quite easy to navigate for people with Internet experience. Email, however, might prove cumbersome for experienced users as warning pop up windows seem to appear every time a message is opened or sent on Internet Explorer browser. Also moving from one message to another and replying to messages were mentioned as points for improvement.

The developers and the City welcome feedback on this new version and it will no doubt evolve as time goes by. 

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