The difference was dramatic: In its January online auction, Kern County, California, sold 88 percent of the 351 tax-defaulted properties up for sale. The properties sold for an average of more than $34,000 and over 140 bidders took part in the process.

The tallest new structure to be built in Berkeley in 30 years opens in June. But it will be opening without meeting the zoning requirement that made its size possible.

As governments turn to private partners to put their transactions online, they're finding that there's more than one way to make e- commerce happen.