BAGRAM, Afghanistan – A fraction of Afghanistan's population has access to the net, and literacy here is abysmally low. Still, Afghanistan's top presidential candidates are taking their campaigns online.

Take Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister who has emerged as the top challenger to President Hamid Karzai's. Abdullah has a Facebook page and a slick website (in English, Dari and Pashto) that features news photos, and video. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Karzai's former finance minister and a respected development expert, also has a sophisticated campaign website; his U.S.-style campaign adcan be seen on YouTube. Both Abdullah and Ghani are running on platforms that promise to end Afghanistan's scourge of corruption and nepotism.

Ramazan Bashardost – in journalistic shorthand, Afghanistan's Ralph Nader – is running a more quixotic campaign: He lives in a tent, and runs in part on ten-cent donations. But he also has his own site, with some charming graphics, and a Facebook page as well.

One has to wonder, however: What is the target audience for these websites, particularly the ones in English? Take a closer look, and it's clear that they are aimed at rustling up campaign funds, especially from the Afghan diaspora.

Of course, frontrunner Karzai has his own online presence: The coveted president.gov.af domain.

[PHOTO: Abdullah Abdullah's Facebook page]

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