Internet buckles under online Obamamania

US President Barack Obama's inauguration was billed as the biggest new media event in history and the millions of netizens around the world did not disappoint, with internet and mobile networks brought to their knees by people accessing and uploading videos, photos, tweets and text.

Obama's election campaign galvanised a generation of politically engaged young voters who are used to not only consuming news from traditional sources but adding their own thoughts and coverage via social media sites including YouTube, Flickr,Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.

Facebook, which teamed up with CNN to allow its users to chat about the inauguration in real timethrough status updates, reported that more than 400,000 status updates were posted to the CNN channel in an hour, beginning half an hour before Obama began his speech.

On Google's hot trends list, all 10 of the most searched-for terms were related to the inauguration.

With thousands of photographs and video clips coming in from viewers, CNN used Google Maps to showcase some of the best content from each location.

The Washington Post used a more advanced mapping platform to deliver photos and videos from more than 30 professional photographers and videographers dotted all over the city.