Bush takes on-line Q&A for first time

For the first time, U.S. President George W. Bush is having his first on-line Q&A session when flying back home from Egypt. Beginning 1800 GMT, Bush is answering questions submitted via whitehouse.gov on the subject of his trip to the Mideast from the Air Force One presidential jet, the White House announced in its website. The website has a policy chatting room where senior officials regularly answer questions from anyone who can access the site. But it is the first time Bush does it himself. However, it is not the president who does the typing and he will let someone type down what his answer is. The event followed another ground-breaking move that White House senior staff members blog about Bush's trip to the Mideast on the White House website. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and Counselor to the President Ed Gillespie have been posting periodic updates on whitehouse.gov in a blog called "Trip Notes from the Middle East." The White House has not jumped into Web 2.0 as other agencies have. It has hosted on-line chats with officials and the popular Barney Cam, which shows Bush's dog. It also has used YouTube to post anti-drug messages. But this is the first White House blog. Other agencies, including the Library of Congress, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and State Department began blogs last year.