Obama borrows iPhone to post first ever tweet from new account

United States President Barack Obama has finally got his own Twitter account and has attracted over a million followers within few hours.

Obama's first tweet said, "Hello, Twitter! It's Barack. Really! Six years in, they're finally giving me my own account."

However, The Verge reported that the tweet devolved into a national scandal when it was learnt that Obama was tweeting from an iPhone, despite the well-known fact that he is not allowed to use an iPhone due to security reasons.

Later, reports claimed that the phone used by Obama belonged to the Executive Office of the President, not to the president himself.

The new @POTUS Twitter account will serve as a new way for Obama to engage directly with the American people, with tweets coming exclusively from him, the White House website blog said.

Obama is currently following 65 people, including Bill Clinton, George Bush and @FLOTUS, the First Lady's account.

The U.S. President earlier tweeted via @BarackObama, which was handled by non-profit organisation 'Organizing for Action', and all tweets posted carried his initials, 'BO.