Lithuania's citizens are shown voting in Vilnius, in this October 10, 2004 file photo. Lithuania aims to follow fellow Baltic state Estonia and use the Internet for voting in elections, the government said on Wednesday. REUTERS

VILNIUS (Reuters) - Lithuania aims to follow fellow Baltic state Estonia and use the Internet for voting in elections, the government said on Wednesday.

Estonia in March became the first country in the world to allow voting via the Internet in a national parliamentary election. Other countries are studying the idea. Lithuania said it hoped to launch its system in time for elections in 2008.

“I hope that in this area we will catch up with Estonia, and by doing this we will surpass most European Union states,” Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas told a news conference.

The government said it approved a program to pave the way for Internet voting at a cost of about 580,000 euros ($797,400).

In Estonia, 3 percent of the 940,000 eligible voters used e-voting.