Abstract: A system for presenting a GIS and method for making and using one includes the necessary hardware and software for presenting a GIS over the Internet. The GIS is particularly useful for municipalities and has an interactive, searchable database containing map data and parcel related data, such as tax records and information useful to various departments in a town, such as the police and building licensing departments. A server computer running GIS software presents the map data and the parcel related data to town users over the Internet. The system includes means for updating the related data by utilizing a system where towns fax forms to the system which converts them to image files from which relevant data fields are extracted and evaluated by optical character recognition. To fund the establishment, use and maintenance of the system, citizens are charged fees for submitting data change transactions, i.e., when forms, such as a building application are submitted to the towns.