Twitter has been a lifeline for Westerners both inside and outside of Japan as they try to keep up with fast-moving events following the March 11 massive earthquake and the tsunami that followed.

The social networking service has often been the fastest way for non-Japanese speakers in the country to learn what is being said at government press conferences and in news reports carried by NHK, Japan's public broadcasting service.

The events unfolding at a nuclear power plant in the Fukushima prefecture were of particular concern, especially after NHK carried alarming footage Saturday, March 12, of a large explosion that destroyed the top of the reactor building.

Japanese officials held press conferences broadcast live on television later in the day and Twitter users including several Western journalists tweeted the main points in English as they were delivered, before stories had appeared from outlets like Reuters and CNN.

Twitter was also used, along with Facebook, Linked In and other social networking services, to keep family and friends overseas up to date with the events unfolding in Japan, IDG New Service reported.