Twitter remakes website and adds new features

SAN FRANCISCO - Microblogging sensation Twitter, which is now signing up 370,000 new users daily on average, is redesigning its website to make it easier for its millions of users to search and navigate the service.

The four-year-old company, which this month reported more than 145 million users, announced on Tuesday new improvements, such as embedded YouTube videos and other content, which is featured in a new two-pane layout.

Twitter Chief Executive Evan Williams said the overhauled twitter.com features a completely new architecture, which is more responsive and user-friendly

"It makes it such a richer and faster experience," Williams said at a press conference to announce the new site.

Twitter allows users to send 140-character text messages -- tweets -- to groups of followers. The company has quickly become one of the Web's most popular social networking services, along with Facebook and LinkedIn.

Williams said more than 90 million tweets are sent per day on average.

Twitter is increasingly challenging established Web giants such as Yahoo Inc and Google Inc for consumers' online time.

(Reporting by Gabriel Madway; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

Theo reuters.com