he Oklahoma state government has begun offering an e-mail service that alerts subscribers whenever terror threat levels change at the state or national level.

Those who sign up for the service at

YourOklahoma.com can receive the updates through any device with e-mail capability.

Jeff McCartney, general manager of

YourOklahoma.com, said the service had been well received in the state, which was terrorized by a bombing seven years ago.

"We've had to deal with very serious issues," Mr. McCartney said. "My personal opinion is that others would look to Oklahoma for leadership."

As far as state officials know, they are the first to set up an e-mail notification service that deals exclusively with terror threats. The White House Web site (www.whitehouse

.gov) allows people to sign up for updates on homeland security issues but has no specific notification for changes in threat levels.

Whenever threat levels change, subscribers to Oklahoma's service receive a brief notification that informs them of the change and directs them to the state's Web site for details.

"Just from our experience, we've learned that communication is very critical," Mr. McCartney said, adding that he expects demand for the service to grow.

Rebecca Fairley Raney