The event at George Mason University highlighted the potential impact of online communities in the 2008 race. Young people are highly motivated by Barak Obama's potential candidacy and they are turning out in high numbers on the Web.

Facebook, the social networking site which Obama is a member of, has several groups dedicated to supporting the senator who recently announced the launch of his presidential exploratory committee. "Barak Obama for President in 2008" now has more than 50,000 members and its founders have also created an offline organization called Students for Barak Obama. Another group in support of the Illinois Senator is "One Million Strong for Barak Obama" and has gained over 200,000 members since it was created a little over two weeks ago.

In his 25 minute speech Obama promised a better kind of politics, one run by young people.

"You guys don't have much of a memory of the possibility of a politics that transcends and brings people together," he said. "[At] each and every juncture of our history, somebody has been audacious enough to say, 'We could do better.' . . . And more often than not, it's young people who've done it."

Mobilized Online, Thousands Gather to Hear Obama