The national election watchdog decided on Friday to allow candidates to use Twitter and other social networking sites for their election campaigns all year round.

Under the current South Korean law, candidates are banned from distributing promotional publications and other materials for 180 days prior to voting. The national election watchdog has classified Twitter postings related to elections and candidates as one of the banned materials.

The decision by the National Election Commission came after the Constitutional Court ruled last month that using such online and mobile media to reach out to voters does not violate elections laws, citing the nature of the medium "fits into the election law that seeks fair opportunity, transparency and low-cost campaigns."

Twitter and other micro-blogging Internet services have emerged as hot issues in South Korea, one of the most wired countries in the world with a large population of smartphone users.