Barack Obama and Bill Clinton trade jokes on Twitter

YEREVAN, 19 MAY, ARMENPRESS: Bill Clinton andBarack Obamahave engaged in some election-related banter on instant messaging site Twitter, much to the delight of their legions of followers, Armenpress reports, citing The Telegraph.

The exchange came after President Obama joined Twitter earlier in the day with the message: "Hello, Twitter! It's Barack. Really! Six years in they're finally giving me my own account."

The name of the new account is@POTUS, short for President of the United States. It immediately attracted hundreds of thousands of followers.

One of them was@billclinton, the former president whose wife, Hillary Clinton, is running for the democratic nomination for president.

Responding to the president's arrival on Twitter, Mr Clinton asked if the Twitter handle would remain when Mr Obama leaves office. He used the hashtage #askingforafriend, a not-so-subtle nod to Hillary Clinton's bid for the White House.

Mr Obama replied with his own joke, suggesting that Mr Clinton might end up with the@FLOTUShandle, reserved for the first lady, if Mrs Clinton becomes the next president. While there has been an@BarackObamaaccount active since 2007, it is managed by the president's staff. The new account is meant to be Mr Obama's personal Twitter profile.

He identifies himself on it as "dad, husband, and 44th president of the United States".

In addition to sending his first tweet, Mr Obama "followed" several other Twitter users, from whom he will receive updates.

They include his wife Michelle, his beloved Chicago Bulls basketball team, Harvard University and former presidents George HW Bush and Mr Clinton.

Mr Clinton has long been an avid user of Twitter, commenting on everything from the work his foundation is doing in Africa to the sporting events and television programmes he enjoys.

Vice-president Joe Biden was among those to welcome Mr Obama to Twitter, telling his boss, "see you around the neighborhood."

John Kerry, the US secretary of state, sent "a big #WelcomeToTwitter" to Mr Obama, in which he said he was "always proud to be part of your @Cabinet team".

Piers Morgan also reached out to Mr Obama on Twitter, advising the president to read his upcoming column on the US response to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

While Mr Obama still has 20 months remaining in office, some have already speculated that the new account will be Mr Obama's social media outlet of choice in his post-presidency.