YouTube Launches You Choose '08 Spotlight

YouTube, the leader in online video, today announced the creation of the YouTube You Choose '08 Spotlight, a new way to support and highlight video conversations between presidential candidates and voters. Building upon the initial popularity of YouTube's non-partisan You Choose '08 voter education initiative, Spotlight will feature one candidate per week on the News & Politics Category page ( http://youtube.com/categories_portal?c=25&e=1 ).

"YouTube revolutionizes politics by providing voters and candidates a level platform for political discussion," said Steve Grove, Head of News and Politics for YouTube. "It also lets candidates peel back the political veneer to develop their ideas and identities with voters in a personal, interactive way. Spotlight will draw attention to the dialogue happening on YouTube and empower voters to make informed political decisions."

During each candidate's week in Spotlight, he or she will create a video for their YouTube You Choose '08 Channel to inspire video responses from the YouTube community. The YouTube community will have a week to submit responses to the candidate's video and, based on those responses, candidates will engage with the YouTube community through video responses that reflect what they have seen. Spotlight, like all You Choose initiatives, will allow presidential candidates to mobilize voters through the power of online video, while giving voters highly visible access to candidates.

The first Spotlight candidate participant will be former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who asks the YouTube community, "What do you believe is America's single greatest challenge and what would you do to address it?"

In addition to Romney, 11 presidential candidates have agreed to participate in Spotlight including: Senator Joseph Biden, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Chris Dodd, Senator John Edwards, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Congressman Duncan Hunter, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Senator John McCain, Senator Barack Obama, Congressman Ron Paul and Governor Bill Richardson.

"Rarely do presidential candidates have the chance to communicate with such a large number of voters and directly solicit their ideas and their input," said Governor Mitt Romney. "I'm looking forward to interacting with this engaged community of people about the new generation of challenges confronting our nation."

Between now and the presidential election, YouTube will continue to serve as an engine for democracy by encouraging direct interaction between presidential candidates and voters.

About YouTube

Founded in February 2005, YouTube is the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.YouTube.com and across the Internet through websites, blogs, and e-mail. YouTube has quickly become the leading destination on the Internet for video entertainment. YouTube is a subsidiary of Google, Inc.

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