The White House has expanded its presence on the Web with accounts on Twitter and other social networking sites, continuing what pundits have said is President Barack Obama's unprecedented use of technology.

Along with his weekly address and regular press briefings from his spokesman, Obama will now also be communicating with Americans through Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. This is to add to his sites on Flickr, iTunes, Vimeo and YouTube.

The increased web presence is not only consistent with the President's being tech-savvy, which even critics agree he is, but is part of the administration's efforts to use technology to cut costs and make processes more efficient.

"Many businesses have innovative ways of using technology to save money, and many experts have new ideas to make government work more efficiently. Government can - and must - learn from them," Obama said in his weekly address last week. "So later this year, we will host a forum on reforming government for the 21st century, so that we're also guided by voices that come from outside of Washington."

The "tweets" will also help the administration update the public about the swine flu outbreak within and outside the nation's borders.

"Technology has profoundly impacted how - and where - we all consume information and communicate with one another," the White House said in its announcement of the new sites. "There's a lot to talk about right now. From an economic crisis to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the President and his Administration have a full plate - not the least of which is making sure the public stays up-to-date and involved in our efforts."

Obama's use of technology has often been cited by pundits as one of the reasons for his successful campaign.

Last August, he had used e-mail and text to announce his choice for running mate. His fundraising had relied heavily on grassroots volunteers of mostly young voters. It also depended on small online donations, and totaled nearly $750 million, more than the combined amount raised by former President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) in the 2004 election.

Upon his election, Obama became the first president to have video recordings of the weekly radio address. He is also set to become the first commander-in-chief to be allowed access to email from the Oval Office or anywhere else via his security-enhanced Blackberry.

As of Saturday morning, the President's Twitter account had 24,582 followers.