Hugo Chavez tweets

Earlier this year, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez urged his supporters to use social networking sites to combat his critics, telling them, “The Internet is a battle trench because it is bringing a current of conspiracy.” But why rely others to do that which you can do yourself? Chavez’s communications watchdog, Diosdado Cabello, announced on Tuesday that the Comandante has opened a Twitter account, and will soon be disseminating his own 140-character-long messages. His chosen handle, @chavezcandanga, quickly attracted some 400,000 followers. The micro-blogging site has proven to be wildly popular in Venezuela, where membership grew over 1,000 per cent in 2009.

Reuters