New Orleans plans YouTube presidential debate

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - New Orleans hopes to hold a U.S. presidential campaign town meeting in September, and while the candidates have yet to agree, the debate has already been announced on YouTube.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and other community leaders said the forum, planned for September 18, will use Google's technology and the YouTube's Web-based video platform as a means of incorporating American voices into the discussion. Google owns YouTube.

"New Orleans is rebuilding and we are excited about the future. We're ready to welcome the candidates to our city to discuss that future," Nagin said on YouTube in a video to announce the debate. "The Internet is allowing that discussion to take place in ways that are more democratic and empowering than ever before."

Invitations have been extended to Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and presumed Republican nominee John McCain, but no campaign has accepted yet, a spokeswoman for the forum said.

New Orleans, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, is a popular spot for political appearances.

Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards announced his candidacy and withdrawal from the race in the city.

And last week, McCain visited New Orleans where he delivered a sharp criticism of the Bush Administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina.

(Reporting by Anna Driver in Houston and Russell McCulley in New Orleans, editing by Eileen O'Grady and David Wiessler)