Obama begins web transition

The Obama administration has taken charge of the official Whitehouse web site

The Obama administration has officially taken the reins of the President's official web site.

Just minutes after Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, the official blog at Whitehouse.gov ran an introductory post from the new administration, and the site's official heading was changed to 'President Barack Obama'.

The blog kicks off a visual and functional overhaul of the White House web site. The new resident promises to use the site as a means of making his administration more transparent and easier to communicate with than previous presidents.

"Millions of Americans have powered President Obama's journey to the White House, many taking advantage of the internet to play a role in shaping our country's future," wrote Macon Phillips, director of new media for the administration.

"WhiteHouse.gov is just the beginning of the new administration's efforts to expand and deepen this online engagement."

In addition to policy outlines and news updates, the administration plans to use the site to host all non-emergency legislation for five days prior to a presidential signing, allowing the public to view and comment on all bills before they are signed into law.

The Obama team also plans to set up news feeds for users, both as RSS and mailing lists.

The remaking of the Whitehouse.gov site is the first move in what is likely to be an unprecedented involvement by the president in the technology world.

In addition to White House public relations and citizen interaction, the Obama administration could be faced with deciding on several issues that could profoundly affect the future of the internet and IT industry in the US.