MORE than 3,000 citizens have joined a Guangdong netizen's call for Premier Wen Jiabao to hold an online dialogue with the public and overseas Chinese during the national parliamentary session.

A thread started last week on a Guangzhou-based Web site by a college lecturer in Guangzhou asking Wen to go online created ripples across the country over the weekend, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

Most major Web portals placed the story high on their sites and enthusiastic netizens have even started discussing how to avoid an online traffic jam should the premier consent to the request.

Xu Yuanyuan, a National People's Congress deputy from Guangdong, said she would take the message to Beijing as she believes the Central Government should adopt a more open and spontaneous communication with the public.

The initial posting said it was "a bold suggestion" to invite Premier Wen to an online chat with "all the Chinese people around the world on a range of issues big or small."

Online chatting with top leaders is still a novelty in China, although at the provincial level, officials have started to experiment with this new form of communication.

Official data shows the number of mainland Internet users reached 132 million at the end of last year, the second-largest in the world after the United States.

The netizen, who was identified by the newspaper as surnamed Luo, said his boldness had been inspired by Premier Wen. The premier told thousands of journalists at a press conference during last year's National People's Congress session that he kept himself posted on public opinion by regularly checking all major Chinese Web sites.

Luo highlighted German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has launched a personal video blog, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who chatted online several times about issues ranging from domestic politics to his first love.

Another comparison is Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who last month used his first online chat with the public to explain the ruling party's ban on private media, discuss his landmark visit to the Vatican and Hanoi's anti-corruption campaign.

Editor: Wing