MySpace will stream Friday's debate between US presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain live online in an Internet first and provide software tools letting people see which candidate is in tune with their views.

MySpace will stream Friday's debate between US presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain live online in an Internet first and provide software tools letting people see which candidate is in tune with their views.

The exchange between the candidates will be broadcast at a MyDebates.org website the social networking powerhouse created to add what it hopes will be an increasingly interactive online component to the White House race.

MyDebates.org was launched last month in an unprecedented partnership with the non-profit, non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).

"For the first time in American history, viewers of the debates will be empowered to watch the event in real time online and review candidate responses on demand," MySpace chief executive Chris DeWolfe said at the launch.

"From the candidate profiles on MySpace to the viral fundraising by our community, we are committed to creating an environment that creates higher levels of civic engagement."

Online viewers will get "on-demand" replays of debates as well as automated tracking of portions concerning issues important to them.

MyDebates.org will store videos of debates for viewing at any time.

Videos will be "bookmarked" to allow people to easily jump to their important issues, and will be searchable and tagged by event, candidate, topics, and questions asked of the candidates.

For example, a viewer will be able to search on terms such as "environment" or "health" to get debate snippets related to those issues.

Online viewers will be discretely polled periodically during the debates and results shared.

MySpaceTV will host the debate clips which will be accessible to anyone on the Internet.

"Exit polls have consistently found that the general election debates are the number one factor in shaping voter choice," said Lee Brenner, director of MySpace's Impact program.

Visitors to MyDebates are greeted with a questionnaire regarding issues such as taxes, health care, gun control, abortion and same-sex marriage. A scorecard shows people which candidate's views match theirs.

MyDebates lets people build profiles reflecting their political leanings and then embed them on websites such as MySpace and, come Friday, on Web pages at MySpace rival Facebook.

MySpace hopes to arrange for online viewers to ask candidates questions during a "town hall" televised debate set for October 7.

Veteran newscaster Tom Brokaw is to check questions posted at MyDebates and pass on to candidates those he deems worthwhile.

Televised presidential debates typically draw tens of millions of viewers -- the first debate in the 2004 race drew 62 million -- and MySpace is hoping online viewing will expand the audience.

"I'm confident that this is the best way for new media to intersect with the general election presidential debates," CPD executive director Janet Brown said in a statement.

"Our educational partnership with MySpace builds on the unique power of digital media to further engage voters on the issues and help ensure their voices are heard in new and effective ways."

The first presidential debate will be followed by a debate of vice presidential candidates, the Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Sarah Palin, on October 2.

The second presidential debate, in a "town hall" format, will take place October 7, while a third McCain-Obama showdown is set for October 15.

© 2008 AFP