Still think this Web 2.0 revolution is just about finding hot bald Britney lookalikes on MySpace to add to your Friend list? Well, yes. Kind of. But there are more serious aspects too.

Meanwhile, rivals John Edwards and Hillary Clinton have rolled out their own sites owing as much to YouTube as they do to traditional campaign platforms. Meanwhile, here in the UK we're laughing at webcameron and giving Tony Blair a good kicking for his Downing Street e-Petitions website.

Obama campaign becoming an Internet phenomenon

Washington - When Sen. Barack Obama addresses an expected gathering of thousands today in Austin, Texas, he will have the Internet to thank for many of the volunteers who collect tickets, sell T-shirts and help with the cleanup.

Just two weeks ago, University of Texas law student Richard Cofer went on the popular Facebook website to launch the group "UT Students for Obama." More than 500 have since joined in support of the Illinois Democrat, and about 100 have signed up to help this afternoon, Cofer said.

Cofer's group is just one of thousands that are springing up in a movement that has turned Obama's campaign into an Internet phenomenon, especially among students and young people.

Nationwide, an online group dubbed One Million Strong for Barack started just a little more than one month ago and has already drawn more than 295,000 members.

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Washington - When Sen. Barack Obama addresses an expected gathering of thousands today in Austin, Texas, he will have the Internet to thank for many of the volunteers who collect tickets, sell T-shirts and help with the cleanup.

Just two weeks ago, University of Texas law student Richard Cofer went on the popular Facebook website to launch the group "UT Students for Obama." More than 500 have since joined in support of the Illinois Democrat, and about 100 have signed up to help this afternoon, Cofer said.

Cofer's group is just one of thousands that are springing up in a movement that has turned Obama's campaign into an Internet phenomenon, especially among students and young people.

Nationwide, an online group dubbed One Million Strong for Barack started just a little more than one month ago and has already drawn more than 295,000 members.

Barack Rodney King Obama

Barack Obama's glib announcement in declaring his candidacy for the presidency provides clues about the man and reminds us, contrary to his stated message, of the great chasm that separates people of different political orientations.

Mr. Obama appears to have fallen prey to the wave of public adulation accompanying the media's hype about him – to the point that he broke his recent promise not to seek the presidency at this early stage in his inexperienced political career.

I realize many politicians, like Hillary Clinton, break similar pledges. But with Obama it's a bit different. He actually seemed to believe his earlier admission that he hadn't yet accumulated sufficient miles in government to prepare himself for what is not an entry-level position. On the surface, his confession reflected a degree of humility, or at least an awareness that the public wouldn't seriously consider someone so green.

Obama Campaigns as a Quitter

In the history of campaign promises, Barack Obama's latest might also be the toughest to keep. Read my lips, he's essentially pledging, "no Newports." Actually, he's a Marlboro man. But Obama has made a promise to his wife—and because the press got wind of it, the public—to quit smoking during his presidential bid.

He's on the Nicorette now instead.

• Obama's L.A. Times coverage. In a story Sunday, the Times quotes Obama's fellow activists who say there are too many "I"s in Obama's memoir, suggesting he played up his activist role in the 1980s. The next day, Obama dispatched his people to write a point-by-point refutation of the story.