According to the latest reports, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has joined social networking website, Facebook.

The government of Iran with its wide reaching sensors has banned the world's largest social networking site as well as others including Twitter in the country. The sites were banned after they were used by activists to gather support for opposing the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.

Ironically, Iran experts believe that Khamenei's office is managing pages on these sites dedicated to the leader. The Facebook page "Khamenei. ir" includes pictures of the leaders as well as speeches and pronouncements. The page is appeared to be officially authorized and it has been publicised by a Twitter account carrying the same name.

Khamenei's Facebook page has shared a picture of a young Khamenei along with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who was the founder of the revolution in the early 1960s. The page similar content and uses the same style to spread the message as Twitter and Instagram profiles as well as the website www. khamenei. ir.

Many Iran observers say that even as the country's Islamic regime has banned the social networking sites in the country, its leaders are looking to spread their message through the medium to the global audience as they have realized the importance of online social media as a public relations tool.