Brown lightens up dour image by launching his own YouTube site

Mr Brown has turned to the video streaming website in a bid to boost his popularity and reassure people he is listening to their concerns.

It is a move straight out of David Cameron's book and bears a striking similarity to the Tory leader's own online forum which launched more than a year ago.

Moving with the times: Gordon Brown gets his own YouTube site

Mr Cameron's decision to show webcam broadcasts from his breakfast table was initially ridiculed but clearly Number 10 have decided it could now work for them.

Mr Brown is desperate to prove that he is in touch with the public after a dismal few weeks saw his stock plummet to an all-time low.

Internet users can now pose their questions directly to the Prime Minister by posting a video message on the Ask The PM site.

He promises to reply to the most popular queries with his own recorded message and has already recorded the first clip, which can be seen on the website today.

Question time: Gordon Brown is inviting questions which he will respond to via YouTube

Describing the move as an "exciting new initiative", he said: "I will be here to answer your questions about how globalisation is working; what's happening to climate change; how we can build the houses we need; how we can get the jobs we need for the future; how we can do better with the health service; how we can do better with all the different public services the Government provides.

"I am here to answer your questions. Politicians get the chance in Prime Minister's Questions. I think it is time the public had a chance."

The deadline for the first set of questions is June 21, and Mr Brown promised to be back "at some point soon" to deliver his answers.

The site follows the creation of the Webcameron site by Conservative leader David Cameron, who once branded Mr Brown "an analogue Prime Minister in a digital age".

By this morning, Ask The PM had already attracted almost 3,500 subscribers.

Brown will also address Google's annual conference later, where he is expected to promise a hi-tech revolution in UK public services.

He will be the opening speaker and he will address executives on the crucial role of technology in cutting crime and in offering people better access to education and healthcare services.

"My aim is to ensure we utilise all the innovation at our disposal to improve public services in this country and to give more power to those who use them," he is expected to say.