(Aug. 23, 2008) -- Below is the text of the email sent by the Barack Obama Presidential campaign announcing his choice of Sen. Joe Biden as his VP running mate.

It landed in our email box at about 4:01 a.m. today (Aug. 23)...about six hours after AP and Fox News broke the story.

The Obama campaign's use of the internet to skillfully communicate his message of "change" is credited by many with helping him build support (especially among younger voters) early in the campaign, avoiding the constraints of traditional print and broadcast media.

William --

I have some important news that I want to make official.

I've chosen Joe Biden to be my running mate.

Joe and I will appear for the first time as running mates this afternoon in Springfield, Illinois -- the same place this campaign began more than 19 months ago.

I'm excited about hitting the campaign trail with Joe, but the two of us can't do this alone. We need your help to keep building this movement for change.

Please let Joe know that you're glad he's part of our team. Share your personal welcome note and we'll make sure he gets it:

http://my.barackobama.com/welcomejoe

Thanks for your support,

Barack

P.S. -- Make sure to turn on your TV at 2:00 p.m. Central Time to join us or watch online at http://www.BarackObama.com.