Obama to 'hang out' on social media to field voters' questions

New York, Jan 24 (ANI): Barack Obama will be hosting a live video chat via Google+ Hangout on January 30 to take questions from the public regarding his State of the Union speech.

The US president is to deliver the address on Tuesday, and viewers have until January 28 to submit their questions through the White House YouTube channel.

"In the first completely virtual interview from the White House, President Obama will answer questions that have been submitted by Americans from across the country via YouTube," the New York Daily News quoted a White House statement as saying.

"Some of the people who submitted questions will even be invited to join the President in the Hangout and take part in the live conversations," it said.

The effort is part of the White House's ongoing effort to interact with the public on social media.

"The President is committed to creating a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration," the White House said

The statement also said that the chat will be the "the first in a series of White House Hangouts that will cover a range of topics and issues".

This isn't the first time Obama has taken part in a live social media chat to drum up engagement with tech-savvy Americans.

In April, the President sat down with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for a live-streamed "Town Hall" in which he answered a handful of user-submitted questions. (ANI)