The State Department -- already pretty good at the social media thing -- is now using Twitter to transmit its thoughts to the Arab world in ... Arabic. Foggy Bottom is using @USAbilAraby, which in English means "USA in Arabic."

With Egypt in the midst of a revolution and Tunisia coming to terms with life after dictatorship, Syria’s government has surprised the region by taking a potentially significant step to soften its grip on power: it has removed many of its internet restrictions.

Tech-savvy young Egyptians wanted to spread the word about widespread discontent in their country, but they didn't expect the massive uprising that would paralyze the country and draw the world's attention. The Mubarak regime recognized the role the Internet was playing in stirring resentment of the government and shut down access in the country.

A new generation of Egyptian revolutionaries, ensconced in a communal apartment, are trying to bring down President Hosni Mubarak's government by broadcasting the revolt in Tahrir Square on Facebook.

Recently, Embassy Bangkok introduced the new U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney, using social media as the vehicle. With the help of the Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP), Ambassador Kenney filmed two short introductory videos -- the first discussing her excitement about coming to Thailand and the second highlighting her love of Thai food.

Egypt's internet activists have played a key role in the pro-democracy protests from the outset, but they tell the BBC that the online campaigning is evolving to suit their real-life activism in Tahrir Square.

Soft power, noted Joseph Nye, is the power to get what you want without coercion. That’s a good kind of power to have, but hard to define.

King Abdullah II of Jordan instructs new Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit to 'correct the mistakes of the past.' In Syria, recent popular revolts in the Arab world spur calls for anti-government protests.