Fans of the micro-blogging phenomenon Twitter descended on Leeds Met as part of a nationwide 'Twestival'.

Old Broadcasting House was the venue for the Leeds event, which enabled the Twitter community to socialise offline, while also raising money and awareness for campaign group 'charity: water'. People met 'friends' they had never met but 'knew' through their Twitter persona and avatar.

Twitter enthusiasts include Stephen Fry, Jonathan Ross and Barack Obama - users can already follow Leeds Met on the site to keep abreast of the latest news.

The service allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

Barack Obama used Twitter extensively during his campaign for last year's US Presidential Election, as a means of keeping supporters updated on his movements.

Linda Broughton, Head of the Northern Technology Institute explained the appeal of Twitter: "It's a really easy way to keep in touch with people. Networking is a huge part of business in certain sectors, and if you can't go to every event then Twitter is a great way of staying informed about things."

The Leeds Twestival was organised by Leeds Met Events Management second year student Ben Saffer, who volunteered to be part of this event and help make the Leeds event a memorable one.

You can join Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ and follow Linda @lindabroughton and Ben @bensaffer.