Change comes to White House website as Obama becomes new president

Source: Xinhua | 01-21-2009 09:50

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The website of the White House has been replaced by that of Barack Obama soon after he was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday.

The White House's new website "will serve as a place for the president and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world," said Macon Phillips, director of New Media of the White House, in a posting on the blog of the website.

"Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov," Phillips wrote after the website of former president George W. Bush went off-line at 12:01 p.m. (1501 GMT) and was replaced by that of Obama.

"Just like your new government, WhiteHouse.gov and the rest of the administration's on-line programs will put citizens first," he added.

According to Phillips, the White House's initial new media efforts will center around three priorities: communication, transparency and participation.

He said the website "will feature timely and in-depth content meant to keep everyone up-to-date and educated" and encouraged users to sign up for email updates.

"President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history, and WhiteHouse.gov will playa major role in delivering on that promise," Phillips said.

"The president's executive orders and proclamations will be published for everyone to review, and that's just the beginning of our efforts to provide a window for all Americans into the business of the government," he added.

Phillips also said that "citizen participation will be a priority for the administration, and the Internet will play an important role in that."

"We will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the president signs it," he said.

In addition, he encouraged users to send ideas about improving whitehouse.gov.

"Like the transition website and the campaign's before that, this on-line community will continue to be a work in progress as we develop new features and content for you," the director said.

"So thanks in advance for your patience and for your feedback," he added.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei