North Carolina, USA (AFP) — Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney has passed one million Twitter followers but still lags far behind the man whose job he wants, Democratic President Barack Obama.

“1 million active followers — thanks everyone for your support. Help us keep the momentum going,” tweeted the candidate, crowned last Thursday as the Republican candidate to take on Obama in the November election.

The tweet linked to a page seeking donations for Romney, who has been outraising Obama consistently as the two wage a neck-and-neck battle for the White House expected to hinge on a couple of key swing states.

Ahead in the cash game, the Republican candidate still has some way to go before he catches Obama in the Twitter popularity stakes as the president closes in on 20 million followers.

Online communications are set to be even more important than in 2008, when Obama raised the bar on targeting voters and donors via the Internet.

A recent Pew study suggested Obama was again embracing Internet messaging more than his rival, especially by targeting key groups such as Hispanics and women voters.

“Obama holds a distinct advantage over Romney in the way his campaign is using digital technology to communicate directly with voters,” the study said.

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