Obama won't give up BlackBerry

Obama told CNN that the BlackBerry was one way to stay in touch with real Americans outside of the White House "bubble", AFP said.

"My working assumption…is that anything I write on an email could end up being on CNN," he said.

"It's just one tool among a number of tools that I'm trying to use, to break out of the bubble, to make sure that people can still reach me," he told CNN.

"If I'm doing something stupid, somebody in Chicago can send me an email and say, 'What are you doing?' "

Obama's BlackBerry was always at his side on the campaign trail, but legal and security obstacles make it difficult for him to bring it with him to the White House. The US President is required by law to keep a record of every communication, and the Secret Service was worried his BlackBerry could be a security risk, Agence France Presse reported.