Twitter is probably the only online tool where people get excited when they are followed by strangers. Apart from the usual news updates, gossip and stalking your friends, it can also be used to make contact with people you have never met, and it is socially acceptable to initiate 140-character conversation.

The motives are varied -- in order to keep updated on a public figure, to pitch a press release, or simply to connect with someone you find interesting. For one high school student, Twitter was a way to realize a dream: to take a porn star to prom.

18-year-old Mike Stone from Tartan High School in Minnesota was determined to find a prom date from the selective pool of the adult industry. So, determined, the high school student sent out over 600 messages into the Twitterverse, trying to track down a willing date from a source full of spam and fake profiles.

Incredibly, he succeeded. Megan Piper, 19, after viewing his Twitter profile -- headline 'I'm awesome' notwithstanding -- agreed.

Stone says he 'was just thinking of doing something new' when he began tweeting messages to porn stars, as well as several celebrities.

"I was like, let's try it out and see if it works. I just think they're really cute and I wish I had one for a prom date."

The adult entertainer had never been to a prom, and so agreed as long as her transport costs from Los Angeles to Oakdale were covered by the student. In the meantime, Piper tweeted inquiries about the best places to buy prom dresses.

However, after Tartan High School discovered the plans, they barred the porn star from the venue. According to MSNBC, the statement was thus:

Megan Piper's "attendance would be prohibited under Tartan's standard prom procedures and would be inconsistent with two school district policies, in order to keep the school safe from 'activity that may be disruptive'".

The tagline #Porn4Prom has resulted in a number of amusing messages of support aimed at Stone and his date, including a new appeal for PayPal donations to fund a separate prom venue.

Piper may not have realized just how much of a PR campaign her original agreement has become, but with Pornhub offering to host and pay for an alternative event, it does remind us that Twitter can be used for far more than simply tweeting about your breakfast plans.

Image credit: Twitter