Beginning in October, Internet-savvy savers will find it much simpler to buy U.S. Treasury bills, notes and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, known as TIPs.

Savers will be able to do everything online through a new TreasuryDirect program at www.treasurydirect.gov.

For investors who are looking for less risk, Treasuries can be a good choice.

And if you have U.S. savings bonds, you would be able to use that same site to request an invitation to convert your paper savings bonds to an online account.

"So many boomers are used to doing this kind of thing with stocks. So why not do it with bonds, as well?" asked Stephen Meyerhardt, a spokesman for the Bureau of Public Debt.

Buying of Treasury securities directly from the government has long been an inexpensive strategy for savvy savers.

People who already own treasuries will still be able to buy or renew them by phone, mail or the Internet. The new all-electronic system that is to begin in October will be optional.

Savers need $1,000 to buy a treasury or invest more money in $1,000 increments. You could, for example, invest $2,000 in a two-year note.

Savers would set up an account through www.treasury direct.gov. You can sign up online for e-mail alerts to upcoming Treasury auctions.

Then savers buy securities by having the money electronically taken out of their bank accounts. Interest is paid twice a year directly to the bank.

There are no commissions to directly buy treasuries. But the TreasuryDirect system charges a $25 annual fee if you have more than $100,000 in marketable securities in a TreasuryDirect account.

No, you won't make mega-money. A two-year treasury note had a coupon rate of 3.875 percent at the August auction.

But there are advantages. Savers don't pay state taxes on interest from U.S. treasuries. You don't get that break for certificates of deposit.

And you will not lose the money you invest if you directly hold onto the treasury until it matures. You cannot say that about bond funds, which can lose money as interest rates in general go up.

Even so, most people wouldn't want to invest lots of money in five-year or 10-year treasuries now — especially when longer- term rates are expected to rise, said Gary Schatsky, president of ObjectiveAdvice.com, a New York financial planner.

Yes, you could sell the treasury before it matures. But you'd pay a broker a commission. And you'd get less money for the note when you sold it, if interest rates had climbed since you bought the Treasury note.

The new TreasuryDirect program will kick off with an Oct. 3 auction of 13- and 26-week bills.

Later, the Treasury will offer its online savers four-week bills, two-year notes, three-year notes, five-year notes, and 10-year notes. And the Treasury offers five-year TIPs, 10-year TIPs and 20-year TIPs.

In February, the Treasury is expected to resume offering a 30-year bond, too.