WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama plans to add a "Youth Ball" to his inaugural festivities this month, officials said Tuesday, in a nod to the young voters who helped propel him to electoral victory.

"Young people are more engaged in this country's future than ever before and we want to harness that excitement by inviting them to participate in this historic occasion," the inaugural committee's executive director Emmett Beliveau said in a statement.

"The youth ball is intended for young Americans aged 18-35 and will celebrate the inauguration of the new president and the role young Americans can play to serve their communities," said the statement from the inaugural committee.

Tickets would be sold at a lower price, 75 dollars instead of the customary 150 dollars, it said.

Obama's campaign attracted an army of youthful volunteers and strong support among students and those under 35. His young supporters played a crucial role in his upset victory in the Iowa caucuses a year ago, setting him on his way to the Democratic party's nomination and victory in the November election.

The inaugural committee also announced that, in keeping with tradition, there would be five regional balls dedicated to each section of the United States.

In addition, the committee said there will be two parties for Obama's home states, Hawaii and Illinois, and his vice-president-elect Joseph Biden's home states, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

There will be a total of ten official inaugural balls for the night, including a previously announced event dedicated to military personnel -- the "Commander-in-Chief's Ball" -- and a "Neighborhood Ball" for local Washington residents linked by the web to parties across the country.

Organizers are expecting record crowds to descend on Washington for the January 20 inauguration of the country's first black president, with estimates of up to two million on the streets for a parade and outdoor swearing-in ceremony.