Bush steps up online campaign efforts

Web sites for more than 50 U.S. newspapers and magazines are sporting a new form of political outreach: video advertisements supporting President Bush's re-election effort. The ad, which features his wife, Laura Bush, lasts about two-and-a-half minutes and touts her husband's views in favor of federal spending on education and the No Child Left Behind Act.

While the effort to use the Internet as a political advertising vehicle remains in its early stages, candidates for national office are making a more concerted effort to advertise online than they did in previous elections. Democrat John Kerry has paid for ads that have run on the New York Times' and other Web sites, though they did not include full-motion video.