In his new role Kundra will work within the White House as well as the federal government in general to oversee IT spending for government computer systems.

Kundra will also work with the country's yet to be named Chief Technology Officer on larger technology initiatives.

34-year-old Kundra had formerly served as the Chief Technology Officer for the District of Columbia, overseeing technology operations within the capital and its various agencies.

"The Federal CIO establishes and oversees enterprise architecture to ensure system interoperability and information sharing and ensure information security and privacy across the federal government," a White House press release said.

"As Chief Information Officer, he will play a key role in making sure our government is running in the most secure, open, and efficient way possible," said President Obama.

"Vivek Kundra will bring a depth of experience in the technology arena and a commitment to lowering the cost of government operations to this position," he added.

Kundra has been recognized among the top 25 CTO's in the US and as the 2008 IT Executive of the Year for his pioneering work to drive transparency, engage citizens and lower the cost of government operations.

Vivek Kundra was part of Obama's transition tech team and was tasked with designing Recovery.gov, a Web site that is supposed to provide information on how stimulus money is being spent.