MySpace gets friendly presidential candidates

Presidential candidates are trying to lure voters on News Corp.'s (NYSE:NWS) MySpace site, showing that they will go to any lengths to feign interest in the concerns of America's youth.

Next up, John McCain will try out for the X games. Hilliary Clinton will dive into a mosh pit while Barack Obama woos voters playing "The Second Life." Mitt Romney seems a bit straight-laced for anything extreme. He's going to have to learn how to skateboard.

The Web will be a key battleground for the 2008 presidential election. Howard Dean paved the way for this though the enthusiasm of his Internet supporters didn't translated into enough real-world voters. Both Democrats and Republicans, though were stunned by how much money Dean raised over the Web.

Since the country is pretty even divided, every constituency there is a going to be a big fight for every demographic even young people, most of whom don't bother voting. This is going to be a boon for MySpace and Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) YouTube though it's unclear how much profits they will make from political spending.

But candidates need to be careful. Internet popularity can be fleeting. Thanks to the Web, there's no hiding from mistakes. Gaffes, mi statements and other errors spread on the Web faster than speed of spin.