BEIJING - Officials joining China's online revolution by starting their own micro blogs has been one of the trends of 2011, and it shows government departments have embraced a form of communication which they previously held in disdain.

Political observers said on Tuesday that in bursting into online conversation with citizens, the government has learned to listen and share information much better with the country's 300 million micro bloggers through the Internet.

The number of accounts verified as being managed by government officials or departments on Sina Weibo, China's major Twitter-like microblog service, has surged to nearly 20,000, according to a report unveiled on Monday.

The first official government micro blog in China was started by Yunnan's provincial government in November 2009, when Sina Weibo was just beginning to attract domestic users.

Since then, more and more government agencies and officials have joined the micro blogging army, whether it's to provide short government news bulletins on a regular basis, just for show, or out of fear of being left behind.

The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, the China International Search and Rescue Team and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have become the top three influential government micro bloggers in terms of both followers and other micro blogging factors, according to the report.

Among all the micro blogs, more than 10,000 are updated by government agencies and about 9,000 by individual officials, according to the report, compiled by a research team for public-opinion monitoring website people.com.cn.

"These official microblog accounts have enabled direct interaction between government departments, officials and Sina Weibo's 250 million registered users," said Sina Weibo's editor-in-chief Chen Tong.

The rapid growth of government micro blogs in China, which has the world's largest online population of 500 million, is changing the method for dialog and the whole dynamic of the relationship between the government and the public.

Altering its approach to talking to the population through micro blogs has been a very significant step, according to those involved.

"It only takes a click of the mouse for Internet users to supervise the government," said Liu Bin, who is in charge of the micro blog representing the publicity agency of Nanjing, capital city of east China's Jiangsu province.

According to Liu, his microblog serves the purposes of releasing information in a fast and accurate manner, telling Internet users what happens in Nanjing and how the government deals with it, and treating them as equals rather than in a condescending way.

"The government is no longer propagandizing among the people but interacting with them on an equal basis," said Zhao Feng, who is in charge of the "Ping'an Beijing" microblog representing the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

It has already become common practice for official accounts, operated mainly by young people, to release information using Internet slang and language styles.

The report showed that official micro bloggers have spanned all provincial-level regions across the country, covering government departments in various fields such as public security, publicity, education and justice.

Official micro blogs have helped more people, in economically developed regions especially, take part in daily political affairs.

This year, the government of Nanhai district of the city of Foshan in southern Guangdong province used its micro blog to supervise the re-election of officials, according to Yu Jin, who is in charge of the online service.

"The micro blog releases timely information about the re-election and receives supervision and comment by the public," Yu said. "No complaints were lodged during the six-month re-election."

The development of official microblogs has persuaded the government to reform its administrative procedures and adjust them in accordance with the public demands, Yu said.

The government used be centered in the past, but not any more, Yu added.

In addition, the large number of official accounts tend to adopt a tolerant attitude toward dissenting opinions. Since its launch, for example, Ping'an Beijing has upheld the principle of "never deleting posts," Zhao Feng said.

Micro blogs have played a significant role in enhancing the government's decision-making process, reducing mistakes and curbing corruption, said Wang Yukai, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance.

According to the report, the number of official micro blogs quadrupled in 2011, up from 5,000 at the beginning of the year, but they are not evenly distributed throughout the country. More economically developed regions, including eastern, southern and northern China, have more micro blogs than areas in central and western China, said the report.

In addition, existing official microblogs have room for improvement, especially in their operation, maintenance and style of language, said Shan Xuegang, deputy secretary general of the public opinion monitoring office of people.com.cn.

"It is hoped that more government departments will join in and open their own official micro blogs," said Gong Yufeng, who is in charge of the micro blog representing the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.