A profile under the name of former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa has been created on the social networking site Facebook and is slowly gaining supporters.

Shilowa said recently that sites such as Facebook would be used to market this weekend's convention which is expected to lead to the formation of a new political party by Shilowa, former ANC chairman Terror Lekota and others.

Discussing the convention's communication strategies during a press conference on Friday ahead of the convention, Shilowa said: "By the way, I went live yesterday myself too."

The Facebook profile cites Shilowa's political views as "Other" while his favourite movies are thrillers, romances and dramas.

The profile, with smiling pictures of him and his wife, Wendy Luhabe, was created on Thursday night. By early Friday night, he had 128 supporters.

Politicians' profiles on Facebook do not have lists of friends like general users do; they have supporters instead.

Shilowa's favourite music is cited as jazz, African music and gospel, while his interests are politics, development, economics, travel and governance.

According to the profile, his favourite books are the Bourne trilogy by Robert Ludlum and his favourite TV shows are current affairs programmes.

His favourite quote: "Man make history [sic] but not under their own choosing."

Convention address

The website address cited on his profile is www.novemberconvention.co.za, that of the national convention organised by him and suspended former African National Congress Chairperson Terror Lekota.

The convention will be held this weekend to discuss the formation of a breakaway political party by mainly ANC members who say they are disillusioned with the party's current leadership.

A supporter, Devon Mitchell Brough, posted a notice on Shilowa's wall that reads: "My faith has been restored in South African politics!

"Moments like this are history in the making and I am proud to be a South African!"

Lekota also supposedly has a profile on Facebook, but it certainly is not the real thing.

(It names him as "Mosioua [sic] Terrosist [sic] Lekota" with a big black cross over a picture of him.)

The fake profile says of his relationship status: "It's complicated with everyone who feels we are being taken for a ride by these losers Lekota and George."

Be careful of Lekota

It adds: "Be careful of this looser Mr Mosioua Terrorsist Lekota [sic]."

The profile has only one supporter.

ANC leader Jacob Zuma also has a profile created under his name with some 1200 supporters.

Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille seems to be the leader of the online pack with 1800 supporters next to a photograph of her staring staunchly into space.

But there are friendlier pictures of her on at least six Facebook groups, created to advocate Zille's becoming president.

To put it into context, however, US presidential hopeful Barack Obama has more than two-million supporters on his profile while his rival, John McCain, has some 600 000 supporters on his Facebook profile.

Sapa