MYSPACE TO HAVE TOWNHALL MEETINGS

Reprinted from NewsMax.com

Thursday, May 10, 2007 1:33 p.m. EDT
MySpace to Host 2008 Town Hall Meetings

Popular Internet social network MySpace will hold a series of "town hall" meetings with U.S. presidential candidates as it aims to encourage its millions of members to play a role in the political process.

The program is the latest effort by candidates for the 2008 presidential race to reach a wider population of voters on the Internet. MySpace is a popular online hangout and seen as a key vehicle for reaching younger audiences.

Several contenders have first announced their candidacies on the Web, while others are using text and video blogs to exchange ideas with voters on sites like Google Inc. YouTube.

Candidates including U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sen. Chris Dodd, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Barack Obama are among a dozen participants who will individually visit college campuses and field questions from attendees and MySpace members online.

The meetings will be held from September through December.

MySpace members at home will be able to submit questions by sending instant messages and watch the event live online.

"Our users will have the chance to get direct answers to the questions they want to ask unfiltered," MySpace Chief Executive Chris DeWolfe said in a statement.

The news comes after MySpace launched a section to give presidential candidates their own page on the service and connect directly with potential voters.

MySpace, a unit of Rupert Murdoch-controlled News Corp., also plans to hold a presidential primary on January 1, 2, 2008.

© Reuters 2007.

PS: Remember "The Shadow Convention" at The LA Democratic Convention? How about a MYSPACE Shadow Town Hall Meeting?