Barack Obama could become the first sitting US president to use email, after reports suggested he may be in line for a new spy-proof smartphone.
The 44th president of the United States, who was sworn into office yesterday, is famous for his love of his BlackBerry – even suggesting that somebody would have to "pry it from his hands" before he would give it up.
But after concerns about security and legal issues, close advisers and government agents have been delaying a decision on whether Obama would be able to use a similar device while in office.
According to blogger Marc Ambinder in the Atlantic, however, a government agency has provided the president with a special, highly encrypted mobile which would satisfy security demands.
"Obama will be able to use it still for routine and personal messages," he wrote, adding that "It's not clear whether he yet has the device".
Traditionally, US presidents have shied away from using hi-tech communications such as email and mobile phones for a variety of reasons – including possible interception from foreign powers.
But the main concerns are often more about political responsibility than personal safety, as a result of the Presidential Records Act of 1978, which requires that documents retained by the White House must be released to the public.
The Act, brought in after Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of Richard Nixon in a few years earlier, has resulted in limiting records of their conversations and deliberations for fear of later recriminations.
However loopholes in the system could mean that Obama - who has said "transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency" – would be able to continue using the device for personal messages that did not impact the presidency.
"If the president is emailing his wife about what time he'll be home for dinner, or checking on when the girls' play is… those are not constitutional and statutory business of the president," said Sharon Fawcett, director of presidential libraries at the National Archives, last week.
"Those are personal messages, so we wouldn't have that."
If Obama does get his hands on a mobile phone for emailing purposes, it is unlikely to be his favourite BlackBerry, however.
Only a limited number of devices are sanctioned for top secret government use – among them the Sectera Edge by Virginia-based General Dynamics. The handset is a heavy-duty highly secure mobile and has been certified by the National Security Agency and costs $3,350 (£2400).
