Prime minister Gordon Brown has told MPs that the government "has a long way to go" on its IT strategy.

In an appearance before Parliament's Liaison Committee to discuss a variety of government issues, Brown talked about IT in response to questions from Andrew Miller, chairman of parliamentary IT body Pitcom. He acknowledged that lessons were still being learned on the best use of technology.

Every organisation knows it still has a long way to go, said Brown.

"Public and private sector organisations are coming to terms with security issues relating to the use of IT and the proper organisation of data," he said.

The government fully realises the benefits of IT, but needs to do more to harness that power, he said.

"We're only now aware of the explosive power of information properly co-ordinated to make a difference, but we have got to get better systems in place," said Brown.

The prime minister said that events in recent months had shown that care and security in the use of the public's information is very important, but that the UK was not alone in making mistakes.

"Every country in the world is recognising that there is so much more to be done to make efficient use of computerisation," he said.

"I don't think we're alone in learning lessons from present experience about how things can be done in the future."

Miller claimed that the Department of Work and Pensions has said that seven out of 10 public sector IT projects have failed.