Facebook sets tone in Iran's electoral contest

As they struggle to compete with an Iranian president who has the support of a state apparatus, leading candidates in June's election are resorting to Facebook.

Of Iran's 70m population, 47m have mobile phones and 21m access to the internet. Moreover, 60 per cent are younger than 30 and obsessed with technology.

About 475 people registered for the June 12 presidential election. But only three are serious contenders hoping to deny Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, the fundamentalist president, a second term. They are MirHossein Moussavi, prime minister from 1981-89; Mehdi Karroubi, a former reformist speaker; and Mohsen Rezaei, former commander of the Revolutionary Guards.