Washington - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who recently announced his intention to run for President, has become the first candidate to launch his or her own online social network.

While many campaigns have created profiles for their candidates on sites like MySpace and Facebook for previous elections, Obama appears to be the first to launch a social network on his own site.

My.BarackObama.com allows users to create profiles, message other members, create groups, organize fundraising and post blogs.

The site is being paid for by Obama for America, while technology behind the social network is being provided by Washington-based Blue State Digital, which has also helped design sites for the Democratic Governors Association, Kennedy for Senate and Heartland PAC.

Related Links:

http://my.barackobama.com

http://www.bluestatedigital.com