Singled out by a report on the US State Department website America.gov titled Internet Revolutionises Campaign Fund-raising, Barack Obama has broken fund-raising records in attracting 3.1 million donors who contributed over US$600 million towards his campaign.

The Barack Obama online campaign has gained particular attention from younger voters for whom social networking websites are part of their daily lives. This has significantly helped to boost voter turnout to record levels. Pictures of youngsters and college students celebrating the Obama victory were broadcasted all over the world.

BarackObama.com hosts a networking portal My.BarackObama.com, where supporters were encouraged to meet, discuss and organise during the campaign.

“Electioneering changed in the 2004 presidential campaign when Democratic contender Howard Dean used the Internet as his staging ground and the public responded by donating time and money. Four years later, Internet fund-raising has leapt ahead, with prospective Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama enjoying particular success thanks to Web 2.0 interactive and social networking tools that enhance online community participation,” read the America.gov report.

Twenty-five years older and perceived as less tech-savvy than the BlackBerry-using 47-year-old Obama, the online reach of Republican candidate John McCain has nonetheless extended from his website JohnMcCain.com into popular social networking and content sharing websites such as Facebook.com while his 24-year-old daughter Meghan has blogged in support of his campaign at McCainBlogette.com.