The Queen has set up her own special "Royal Channel" on YouTube.
Her Christmas Day message will be posted on the popular video-sharing website for the first time as the 81-year-old Sovereign, Britain's oldest living monarch, historically embraces the advances in modern technology.
The new royal link - www.youtube.com/theroyalchannel - went live just after midnight and features both archive and recent footage of the Queen and other Royals, with plans to add new clips regularly.
This year's Christmas message will appear at about 3pm on Christmas Day. The groundbreaking move coincides with the 50th anniversary of the monarch's first televised speech on December 25, which she delivered live to the nation in 1957.
YouTube, which allows anyone to upload and share video clips, was founded in 2005. It became an internet phenomenon and has even made stars of members of the public who have posted their own footage on the site. It was bought by Google last year for 1.65bn US dollars (£880million).
The royal page which bears the heading in scarlet letters "The Royal Channel - The Official Channel of the British Monarchy" is illustrated with a photo of Buckingham Palace flanked by the Queen's Guards in their tall bearskin hats and red tunics.
Its modern video clips include shots of garden parties, state visits, the Queen and Prime Ministers, investitures and a day in the life of the Prince of Wales.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "The Queen always keeps abreast with new ways of communicating with people. The Christmas message was podcast last year. The Royal Channel features the 1957 broadcast where she talks about using a new medium of communication."
The Queen's annual festive speech can once again be downloaded as a podcast from www.royal.gov.uk. It is also being made available in High Definition for the first time this year.
www.youtube.com/theroyalchannel(The Queen's channel)
