Obama 'wins on the web'

8th July 2008

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has taken an early lead against rival John McCain in terms of his online popularity, it has been revealed.

According to figures produced by information and media firm Neilson Online, Mr Obama's website, BarackObama.com, attracted a total of 2.3 million unique visitors in May, compared to Republican candidate Mr McCain, whose site only saw visits from 563,000 people.

Commenting on the findings, Jon Gibs, vice-president of media analytics at Neilson Online, said: "Barack Obama got a head start during primary season in using the web effectively to garner support, both in terms of votes and donations."

He went on to say that as the number of internet users who are registered to vote rises, online campaign efforts will increasingly drive election results.

Mr Gibs added: "Campaigns are no longer dabbling online. We expect a candidate's web presence to be an integral part of both campaigns."

Meanwhile, a group of over 20,000 of Mr Obama's supporters recently used his website to organise an online protest against his support of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act.