The candidates' appearance at the YearlyKos Convention follows a presidential debate on YouTube in late July, when they answered questions posed solely via online videos.

'Look at my record'

The convention, organised by the liberal blog Daily Kos, is now in its second year. Some 1,500 bloggers and 250 journalists are attending the event, which ends on Sunday.

Saturday's session included a debate between seven of the eight Democrat candidates based on questions from the audience.

Senator Joe Biden was the only candidate not to attend.

During the debate, John Edwards asked whether his rivals would continue to accept campaign contributions from "Washington lobbyists".

"Yes, I will because a lot of those lobbyists, whether you like it or not, represent real Americans," Mrs Clinton replied.

"They represent nurses, they represent social workers, yes, they represent corporations that employ a lot of people. The idea that somehow a contribution is going to influence you - I just ask you to look at my record."

But analysts say Mrs Clinton seemed to gain some respect at the forum, whose participants have traditionally favoured other candidates, in particular Mr Edwards.

"We may decide she's not our first choice, but she's not a bad choice," the Associated Press quoted Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas as saying.

'Multifaceted benefit'

Republicans have said the candidates' decision to attend the blogging convention rather than the more centrist Democratic Leadership Council, held earlier this week, shows a swing to the left.

But analysts say candidates are eager to capture some of the vast energy of the online networks, as well as their fundraising potential.

"It's a multifaceted benefit for the Democratic party," Mr Moulitsas told the BBC.

"One - they get to hear from us directly about what we think is important and two because we log off our computers and we start making phone calls or we start knocking on doors - the sorts of things that are important to get people elected."