A new Pew Internet & American Life Project poll shows a significant change in how Americans are participating in the political process.

A surprising number of potential voters are going online, showing how important presidential candidates' digital strategies are. Nearly half -- 46 percent -- of Americans have used the Internet, email or text messaging to interact with or get news about the 2008 election.

Given these numbers, it is curious that Hillary Clinton spent so much less than Obama in online ad spending. Obama spent 4 percent of his $75 million ad budget on digital spending -- about $3 million. Clinton, on the other hand, spent under $500,000 on digital, according to an analysis by the ClickZ Network.

The Pew poll also found that six percent of Americans have donated money to political candidates or causes online, three times the total in the 2004 campaign. Ten percent have used social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace to get involved in campaigns or to gather information about candidates.

One third of internet users under the age of 30 use social networking sites to interact with campaigns.

Perhaps even more impressive are the number of Americans watching online video, a testament to the rise of YouTube and other video sites. 35 percent of Americans have watched political videos online.

Five percent of Americans have posted their own original commentary or analysis -- young voters have more than double this total. 12 percent of online 18-29 year olds have posted original commentary to newsgroups, websites or blogs.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given his strength among younger voters, Obama supporters are considerably more wired. Sixty-five percent have gotten campaign information and news online versus 56 percent for McCain supporters. Obamaniacs also view more online video and use more social networking sites than McCain's camp.

Get more information, including the full report, from Pew/Internet.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

• Prediction: Google invests $1 billion in Facebook
• Prediction: Twitter starts serving ads stateside
• Analysis: Is Twitter worth $75 million? $150 million? How about none of the above?
• Analysis: Facebook vs. MySpace: The battle for global social network dominance
• Analysis: How MySpace Music could beat iTunes
• Analysis: 10 cool Facebook applications that you've probably never heard of -- but should
• Analysis: Chavez, China, and the coming startup squeeze
• Analysis: Social networks: The users revolt II
• Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s