Now appearing on Twitter: Vice President Joe Biden.

The famously verbose Biden sent his first-ever tweet Monday, a Fourth of July message from himself and wife Jill Biden asking Americans to take time to think about U.S. troops and military families on U.S. Independence Day.

His office announced the development with a post on the White House blog.

Given his gift for gab _ not to mention gaffes _ Biden might seem an unlikely candidate to say it in 140 characters or less. Not to worry _ like most politicians' tweets, Biden's will be staff-written.

It's part of the White House's growing focus on social media. The White House regularly communicates via Twitter, as does President Barack Obama's re-election campaign. Obama has told supporters he'll personally author some of the campaign tweets.

On Wednesday the White House will even hold a Twitter town hall. Obama will take questions via Twitter, though he'll respond verbally. The official White House Twitter account, (at)whitehouse, has 2.25 million followers.

Biden's Twitter username is (at)VP. His office said the account will keep followers posted on "all things happening in the Office of the Vice President," including Biden's travels and behind-the-scenes looks at his life.

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Online: http://1.usa.gov/liJFix