Twitter goes down for maintenance

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2009

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Micro-blogging service Twitter shut down for maintenance on Tuesday after delaying the move for a day because of its use as a communications tool by Iranians following their disputed election.

Twitter went down around 5:00 pm (2100 GMT), replacing its usual home page with a message saying "Twitter is currently down for maintenance. We expect to be back in about an hour. Thanks for your patience."

The site also displayed a picture of a talking ice cream cone telling a caterpillar to "Hurry up."

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said in a blog post that the maintenance scheduled initially for Monday had been delayed because of "the role Twitter is currently playing as an important communication tool in Iran."

A US State Department official said...