KEY POINTS:
John Key has opened a new front on the political battlefield, with the launch of his official Facebook site.
The social networking phenomenon has been credited with helping Labor's Kevin Rudd oust long-serving John Howard at the Australian polls last year.
And Key is hoping the move will have the same impact on his bid to replace Helen Clark this year.
"There have been so many bogus sites set up," Key said. "There have even been ones where people have impersonated me. Now people can think, 'cool, [he's] got a Facebook site and I've joined'."
Facebook started in 2004 as a way for American college students to keep in touch but now has more than 50 million members worldwide.
Key had 291 supporters and 93 friends by yesterday, but that's small beer compared to politicians overseas.
Rudd has 20,000 fans but even that's dwarfed by the two candidates for the Democrat nomination in the race for the White House. Hillary Clinton's has more than 120,000 Facebook friends and Barack Obama a whopping 600,000-plus.
Key warned visitors to ensure they were on his official site by accessing it through the National Party website, but even that's no bar to pranksters.
His first batch of supporters included someone purporting to be Prime Minister Helen Clark. Beside her smiling face is written: "Helen is feeling slightly miffed."
'Clark' has also posted a message to Key that states: "May the best man win, old buddy."
Key said he took the presumably fake Clark as a joke. "We'll probably get quite a few weird supporters."
As well as messages, Key has posted various images of himself on the political trail, as well as personal photographs.
Clark has yet to open a Facebook page, but a spokesperson said it was always an option.
Act leader Rodney Hide said the party used the internet to connect with existing supporters rather than attract new ones.
A Maori Party spokesperson said Te Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira had a page on another networking site, Bebo.
And a New Zealand First spokesperson said the party was exploring the use of new technology.
"It may not necessarily be Facebook, but web-based."
New Media commentator Russell Brown said he was not surprised politicians were turning to the web. But he warned parties not to be complacent.
"There's more to it than just turning up. The big thing you run into is how you manage less than friendly interactions."
Brown said National had not dealt with critical or comical web interaction well in the past.
"Monitoring internet traffic is not an easy thing. You look at some blogs and it's just a bloodbath every day."
Brown said Key's site would attract visitors because the opposition leader had a "feel-good factor".
And scanning Key's lists of supporters, he joked: "They all look like Young Nationals to me."
