Pope's Twitter following surpasses 1.6-million mark

Vatican City, December 13 - Pope Benedict XVI's Twitter following crossed the 1.6-million mark on Thursday, the day after the pontiff started tweeting, Vatican radio said. Benedict sent his first Twitter message at the end of his general audience on Wednesday flanked by five young people representing different continents. "Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter," read the first message sent via his Twitter account, @Pontifex, of which there are eight versions in different language. "Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart". The pope also answered three questions on Twitter on Wednesday.