Twitter fast-tracked Charlie Sheen account

Twitter fast-tracked a verified account for Charlie Sheen so that he could continue his bizarre publicty campaign online, it has emerged.

Charlie Sheen and Bree Olsen in Sheen's first tweetpic

The troubled actor's verified account, @charliesheen, appeared on the social network on Tuesday, and has already attracted almost 1.2 million followers. He took over the account from a squatter, after a series of defiant TV and radio interviews in which he denied addiction problems.

Ad.ly, a firm that specialises in celebrity endorsements on Twitter, said it acted as a broker between Mr Sheen and the social network.

"Based on trusted relationships with our executives, Charlie's management team reached out to us," a spokeswoman told GQ.

"Right off the bat, we realised that Charlie's voice has no contemporary. We knew he had one speed: go."

Twitter no longer normally verifies whether celebrity accounts are genuine, after it was overwhelmed with requests. Ad.ly said executives were willing to make an exception for @charliesheen, however, as his public meltdown in recent weeks has become one of the most talked-about stories in the US.

Posted in: People,twitter