Internet-savvy nation taps tweets

Chile's population at 16.7 million is less than the New York metropolitan area, but the Pacific Coast nation ranks fourth worldwide in terms of social-networking penetration among its home and work Internet audience, according to comScore, a market research company specialized in online audiences. Since Saturday's quake, traditional media here have focused on hard news -- death tolls, rescue efforts, government announcements and images of lootings -- while social-networking tools such as Twitter, Facebook and some Google applications have been at the forefront of transmitting highly localized information. Top message topics are about finding families and friends, food and water, and ways to get transportation.