Nonetheless, this immediacy can sometimes go against users and cause them real headaches, as in the case of the former coach of Real Madrid, Vanderlei Luxemburgo, who lost his job because of Twitter.

Last June, just two days after opening his account, Luxemburgo was fired by the Brazilian club Palmeiras for criticizing on Twitter the way striker Keirrison handled negotiations that resulted in his being signed by Spanish team Barcelona.

Naturally, the trainer used the microblog to tell in his own words the news of his firing as soon as it happened.

Strangely enough, the president of Palmeiras also got on Twitter days later to inform the team's fans about negotiations to find a substitute for Luxemburgo.

Others like auto racer Rubens Barrichello prefer a more constructive use for microblogs - after compatriot Felipe Massa's accident last weekend during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, he kept followers posted on Massa's medical condition.

Aside from the sports world, politics has also become Twitter territory in Brazil, following in the footsteps of US President Barack Obama, one of its most famous users on the planet.

The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, and the governor of Sao Paulo state, Jose Serra, are two of the more active users of the service.

The case of Serra, who has almost 50,000 followers on Twitter, is perhaps the most significant because according to all the polls, he is poised to win next year's presidential elections.

That's why, besides his personal account, it is possible to find another on the Internet which, under the name Serra2010, is paving the way for the governor to a possible presidential candidacy.