Western diplomats, accustomed to sighing over MEA's obsession with secrecy, now admit many countries could take a leaf out of India's public diplomacy division.

That was the genesis of the MEA’s move beyond its high walls into the social media platforms and to become more accessible through the tools of the 21st century—Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and their ilk.

The Australian government is to post on YouTube images of so-called boatpeople being turned away and sent to Malaysia, in an effort to deter asylum seekers. The video will show arrivals at Australia's offshore detention centre on Christmas Island being expelled and boarding aircraft. Asylum seekers remain a politically sensitive issue in Australia.

It’s quite difficult, to be honest, for the government to do that [control] because many of these soft power tools are not things that we have direct control over. Even if we did try to influence them, that would be — to use the English phrase — the kiss of death, because the fact that the government was doing it would actually detract from the effectiveness of those soft power tools.

Israeli Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon released a video that offers the Israeli government's point-of-view of the background and context of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. The video quickly drew fire from the Palestinian National Authority, with chief negotiator Saeb Erekat terming it a "cynical and falsified account of history and international law," and called on Israel to explain its posting.

Israel Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon released a new media video describing the historical facts of the Israel Palestinian conflict in a concise, easy to follow video on YouTube. The video explains where the terms "West Bank", "Occupied territories" and "1967 Borders" originated and how they are incorrectly used and applied.

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon stars in a video released by his ministry on Thursday, in which he presents a historical narrative meant to help wage the public diplomacy battle. Ayalon’s office said that the video was meant to put forward Israel’s “long-standing but neglected position” ahead of the Palestinians’ attempt to have a unilaterally declared state recognized at the UN in September.

Israelis studiously track public opinion in the United States and Europe, and Israel's military has taken to using YouTube, Twitter and bloggers to disseminate real-time updates around the world, sometimes in the middle of battle.