Within minutes of Al Gore's announcement of Senator Joseph Leiberman as his running mate in November's US presidential election, the story had topped major news websites around the world. Within hours, his choice was being debated in hundreds of online discussion groups. The Internet has changed forever the fabric of US election campaigns, although it remains an open question whether the technology can usher in a new political culture. The Gore and Bush sites are being used by strategists to respond rapidly to opponents' spins and to reach out to potential supporters. No need for a postcard for these answers - and prizes include a George W Bush coffee mug.
Politicians are particularly interested in the Internet because of the demographics of users.
One of the great hopes for the Internet is that the technology will encourage political participation, especially among the 18-34 age range, which has very low voting rates. More than 40 per cent of this age group do not use traditional news outlets and many believe that a technology popular with young people can be used to encourage voting and revitalise the political culture. The Internet made history in March when Arizona became the first state to make online balloting available for the Democratic Party's presidential primary. Al Gore won this first binding online election. Of the 60,000 Democrats given passwords to vote online, more than 35,000 used the Internet to cast their vote, with the turnout triple that of Arizona's previous primary.