BARACK Obama is to reveal his choice as potential US vice-president in an e-mail and text message to supporters, his campaign said yesterday.
The Democrats' White House hopeful, whose campaign has embraced new media technologies, will send out an alert to supporters as soon as the decision is made.
Mr Obama, 47, faces the Republican John McCain, 71, who has admitted he has difficultie
s using computers, in November's general election, which will decide who will be the 44th president of the United States.
In an e-mail to supporters, David Plouffe, Mr Obama's campaign manager, wrote: "Barack Obama is about to make one of the most important decisions of this campaign – choosing a running mate.
"You have helped build this movement from the bottom up, and Barack wants you to be the first to know his choice.
"Sign up today to be the first to know.
"Once you've signed up, please forward this e-mail to your friends, family and co-workers to let them know about this special opportunity. No other campaign has done this before. You can be part of this important moment.
"Be the first to know who Barack selects as his running mate."
The electronic sign-up sheet also appeared to be an effort to expand the campaign's electronic mailing list ahead of the general election.
The Obama campaign set fundraising records earlier this year during the US primary election season, in part through its use of new media technologies.
Mr Obama, who is on holiday in Hawaii this week, is expected to reveal his choice as running mate before the party's national convention begins in Denver, Colorado, on 25 August.
The full article contains 285 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.