MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE 1) - Yahoo Philippines is tapping various local news providers and social media for a one-of-a-kind election microsite called Purple Thumb (www.yourpurplethumb.com).

Yahoo! Philippines Country General Manager Jack Madrid said the Purple Thumb microsite gives Filipino voters the opportunity to share user generated content, post images, videos and express their views on the 2010 Philippine election.

Madrid said the consumption of news has shifted from discovering "what happened" to finding out "what's happening right now." He noted that news is no longer one-sided but a two-way conversation, which connects online users and invites them to influence the creation of news as it happens.

"We believe that social media serves as an important platform in the coming elections. With the help of our content partners the Purple Thumb microsite will bring Filipino people the most comprehensive election news as it happens," he said during a presentation in Makati City.

He added: "Not only do they receive the most updated news, the microsite also provides a platform to freely discuss opinions, share images, content and up to the minute news."

In an interview with abs-cbnNEWS.com, Yahoo Southeast Asia Producer Charley Braga said a lot of candidates are now aware of the benefits of using social media to share their message to voters.

She said Yahoo Purple Thumb is trying to leverage its various social media tools to provide a form of "social media coverage" of the elections. "We are doing platforms and profiles of the various candidates including commentary from political bloggers and special reports from groups such as VERA Files," she said.

She said Yahoo is also putting out unique content on the site written by Yahoo editors.

Filipino voters can join a real time election conversation from the Purple Thumb microsite; discover more about the Presidential candidates, and share election images on Meme. Additionally Yaho! Philippines is working with media partners; ABS-CBN, Philstar.com, Manila Bulletin as well as bloggers and local NGOs to deliver balanced coverage of the election on the microsite.

The advent of social media has extended the democratic process to the digital space, allowing people to socialize with one another and at the same time gather news and information. With the help of social media tools, the rules of engagement have changed. Now, with internet access, anyone can be an online researcher, publisher and broadcaster.

Yahoo!, where over 600 million people visit every month, aims to bring together social experiences from across the web in a single place. Communities tied together by services such as Twitter, Facebook and Friendster are changing the way people gather news online.