FBI's Most Wanted in Your Pocket

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is one of many agencies to embrace social networking, but its use of technology has a greater practical purpose than simple information dissemination.

As the Houston Chronicle points out, the FBI's most-wanted list celebrates its 60th anniversary this month, and the bureau has updated the old photos-on-the-wall approach to catching criminals. To get information out on city streets, the FBI has developed a $1.99 iPhone app, called FBI Most Wanted, which contains photos and stats of fugitives, terrorists and missing children, video and news feeds, contact information for nearby offices and the bureau's podcasts, Twitter and YouTube feeds. The tagline? "Help the FBI find missing children and apprehend their most wanted fugitives right from your iPhone!"

According to the FBI's Web site, a second-generation app will allow users to send in geo-tagged tips that will help the bureau locate potential suspects.

The bureau has more than 33,000 followers on its breaking-news Twitter feed, more than 18,000 Facebook fans and an email distribution list with more than 150,000 addresses. It also is exploring a presence on Second Life, the popular virtual world software, and has built a number of widgets for use on Web sites and blogs.