BANGALORE, INDIA: He is 93 years young and tries to explore the possibility of the social media. Yes, the successful crusader against apartheid, Nelson Mandela, has become the latest celebrity to sign up for Twitter.

Interestingly the Twitter account, @NelsonMandela, was live for quite some time but it was owned by Richard Millington, an online consultant. However, he happily handed over the account to the legendary leader.

“The Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory is happy to announce that the Foundation’s four social media accounts now all bear the name “Nelson Mandela”. The Twitter account has been rebranded as @NelsonMandela, with thanks to Richard Millington (based in London) who had previously registered this page,” the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory said in a statement.

“We are extremely pleased with Mr Millington’s response and we would like to encourage others who hold domains using Nelson Mandela’s name to hand them over to the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory. Please contact us on nmf@nelsonmandela.org should you be the administrator of such a page,” said Sello Hatang, spokesperson for the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory.

Rebrands social media pages

In line with this development, The Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory Facebook page, Twitter account, YouTube channel and Flickr group have all been renamed and rebranded to reflect the name of the Founder, it added.

Hatang also said the Nelson Mandela Foundation would like to encourage others who hold domains using Nelson Mandela's name to hand them over to the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory.