[en] Regional wavefunctions of the type proposed by Rudge have been used to construct estimates of the integral and differential cross sections for the parity-unfavoured ¹Ssub(g)→ ³Psub(g) and ¹Ssub(g) → sup(1,3)Dsub(u) transitions of helium. Both single-and multi-configurational ground-state wavefunctions are tested. Results obtained by using the Born-Oppenheimer approximation are found to be quite insensitive to the choice of ground-state wavefunction. Cross sections computed in this way are similar in most respects to previous Born-Oppenheimer results based on conventional continuous wavefunctions for the target states. However, calculations based on the Rudge variation principle are found to depend very sensitively on the choice of target wavefunction and to exhibit several other unexpected characteristics. (author)