The Bush administration has launched a website that allows the public to find and comment on proposed rules published by all federal agencies.

The site, www.regulations.gov, is searchable by keyword or agency, enabling users to navigate quickly through the ocean of more than 4,000 new rules issued by the government each year and voice their opinions via e-mail.

Eventually it will allow users to read other people’s comments and access background information on the rules.

While the initiative is aimed at the public, it also opens the door for special interest groups to quickly and easily generate huge numbers of comments to support their causes. After the Office of Management and Budget published its proposed revision of competitive sourcing rules last fall, it received more than 300 comments that appeared to be identical form letters.

Some agencies, but not all, have been accepting online comments through their own websites and have seen a dramatic upsurge in public participation. The Transportation Department receives 20 times as many public comments now as it did before taking its rulemaking online.