Barack Obama launched the official website for his transition to the White House today, inviting users to send in their ideas for the future of the country. It is a ploy that he hopes will harvest tens of millions of e-mail addresses while giving people a sense that they have stake in how he will govern.

Continuing his theme that his historic victory was part of a "bottom up" grassroots movement - even though he ran one of the most brilliant and disciplined "top down" campaigns in US history - the website asks readers to "Share Your Vision" via e-mail. As soon a person sends their thoughts, a reply pings back: "Thanks for signing up to join us in remaking Washington."

Users can also blog, and apply for jobs in an Obama administration via the website - www.change.gov - which featured a quote from president-elect Obama: "The story of the campaign and this historic moment has been your story. Share your story and your ideas, and be part of bringing positive lasting change to this country." It comes under the heading: 'Open Government. It's Your America.'

The website continues a tactic Mr Obama employed to such brilliant effect during his campaign: make people feel they have a stake in his strategy, while simultaneously galvanising an army of supporters and new donors, who were kept in almost daily contact with the campaign through e-mails and text messages.

Mr Obama is prohibited by law to use the minefield of data to raise funds for his 2012 re-election campaign, because it is illegal for public officials to seek money for partisan political purposes using government resources. It is unlawful, for example, to solicit funds using White House telephones.

A new potential donor list is also not a top priority for Mr Obama. He built the biggest and most lucrative online donor base in the history of politics, raising almost $700 million from over three million individual donors since he announced his presidential bid in January 2007.

One possible use of the e-mail addresses, however, could be to help Mr Obama push through his ambitious legislative agenda. If a Bill was threatened on Capitol Hill, people could be contacted en masse and asked to call and pressure their local congressman or senator.

The incoming messages could also be filed under specific legislative topics. If Mr Obama gets an education bill passed, for example, he would be able to send e-mails to those who asked for school reform thanking them for their help and ideas.

In essence, the website is a continuation of his campaign, which kept his supporters engaged throughout his marathon journey to the White House. Mr Obama is clearly intent on keeping people as connected to his Administration as they were to his campaign during his presidential bid.

The website allows users to monitor transition developments and Cabinet picks in real time, although it did not get started quite as planned. After it was launched on Wednesday, visitors were first asked to enter a password and could not access it. By Thursday, a new message was posted, saying "Coming Soon, Under Construction." Later in the day, it was up and running.

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