Obama's supporters create iPhone 'Call Friends' option to rope in voters

London, October 3 : U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's supporters have developed a new application for iPhone with a view to involving more and more people in their campaign, and getting their votes.

The "Call Friends" option is a free application, which was developed by volunteers in less than three weeks.

"This tool is designed to help you become more directly involved in our campaign to change the country," the BBC quoted Obama's campaign blog as saying.

Jason Grigsby, one of the project leaders, said: "This really has the potential to help the campaign. The use of mobile technology to get out the vote and get people involved is a way for the grass roots to really make an impact."

That is certainly what the Obama camp will be banking on.

In its latest blog, the campaign has urged people to ensure that their friends and families are registered and voting for Barack.

The bloggers have also expressed hope that the "Call Friends" feature will "generate thousands of additional personal contacts", which will finally be turned into votes.

Obama's supporters are also making notes on which friends have been called, who they are supporting, and whether they need a reminder call on the day of election.

The website said that the privacy of friends and that of the user will be protected.

Other features include up-to-date news from the campaign, video, photos and talking points that can be used to convince friends to vote for the candidate.

Raven Zachary, another leader on the project, said: "The iPhone is one mobile platform and there are millions of voters who don't have the iPhone. But we are at the beginning of a new wave of mobile technology and we are seeing with the Obama campaign how he uses technology. This will become the norm moving forward."

Declan McCullagh at CNET added: "It's a pretty slick iPhone application. Having your friends sorted by battleground states is something I haven't seen any other politician come up with before. This is a glimpse of the future of high-tech politicking."

According to Raven Zachary: "This is an indicator of how mobile technology can impact political change."

A developer of the application even said that he did not think that McCain's supporters were left with enough time to best their efforts.

ANI