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The battle to master new media becomes ever more intense

ON JULY 30th John McCain's campaign released an anti-Barack Obama advertisement on the McCain YouTube channel. The ad compared Mr Obama's celebrity to that of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. By August 13th it had been viewed 2m times, TV and newspapers had taken it up, a bikini-clad Paris had launched a spirited riposte ("Thanks for the endorsement, white-haired dude") and it was still the most viewed clip on the McCain channel. In reply, Mr Obama's campaign launched "Low Road Express", a website that mocked Mr McCain's reputation for straight talk. On July 31st the Republican National Committee launched "Obama Audacity Watch", to track less-than-glowing stories and clips about him.

Last year, seven of the 16 major presidential contenders kicked off their campaigns online. Andrew Rasiej, a former Howard Dean adviser and founder of Personal Democracy Forum, a website and annual conference that explores the relationship between politics and technology, thinks the internet will change not only campaigns, but also democracy itself. He points to Utah's Politicopia, an open wiki (a collaborative website where content is added or modified) through which citizens can influence the legislature. ...