Era of e-Bids

8220;Let8217;s talk. Let8217;s chat. Let8217;s start a dialogue about your ideas and mine,8221; she told viewers. 8220;With a little help from modern technology, I8217;ll be holding live online video chats starting Monday.8221;

By doing this, Clinton signaled she intends to use the Internet to shore up one of her chief political weak points, what independent analyst Charlie Cook called the caricature of her as 8220;this shrill, raving, partisan, liberal lunatic8221;.

8220;She needs to build people8217;s comfort level with her and she8217;s going to do that with a Internet conversation,8221; Cook said.

Clinton8217;s online declaration that she is forming a presidential exploratory committee followed by less than a week similar news delivered online by Senator Barack Obama.

It follows as well even more elaborate use of the Internet by the third major presidential contender in the Democratic ranks, former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina.

The website for Edwards, the party8217;s vice presidential nominee in 2004, offers documentary-style video of him grousing about his political consultants and informally chatting about the campaign ahead.

The Internet8217;s power to make and break politicians has been vividly demonstrated in recent years.

In 2004, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean jumped from political obscurity to grab the front-runner position in the initial stages of the Democratic race largely on the strength of the interest and fundraising he generated online.

Last year, Senator George Allen, a Republican from Virginia, watched his re-election campaign8212;and his hopes of emerging as a prime contender for the GOP presidential nomination8212;go down in flames after a video clip of him addressing a young man of Indian descent as 8220;macaca8221; made the rounds on the Web.

Barely a factor in campaigning 11 years ago when Clinton8217;s husband, former President Clinton, won re-election, the Internet has become an integral part of the political landscape, with every major candidate fielding a website and seeking to create a virtual community around his 8212; or her 8212; campaign.

But with the advent of YouTube and other video sites, analysts said the most intriguing aspect of the evolving use of the Web might be as part of immense game of political 8220;gotcha8221;, in which campaigns seek to catch opposing candidates off-guard and off-message, as happened to Allen.

Analysts said Clinton8217;s announcement and the accompanying roll-out of her campaign website underscores the well-organised nature of her bid.

In addition to the video clip, the site includes a political analysis of recent polls suggesting she can win, as well as invitations to contribute and sponsor local events to support her. 8220;This is an example of what8217;s to come,8221; Cook said. 8220;It has lots of bells and whistle. There8217;s nothing left to chance.8221;

8211;Peter G. Gosselin