Twitter is definitely not for sale, says co-founder

Biz Stone again plays down recent acquisition rumours.

Despite the rumour mill rumbling on around Twitter being an acquisition target for some big names in the tech industry, the micro-blogging site is not for sale, co-founder Biz Stone has reiterated.

Stone reportedly told ABC host Barbara Walters on her show The View that recent rumours surrounding the company's possible sale to Microsoft, Apple or Google are unfounded.

"We're just getting started as I've said," Stone reportedly told Walters. " The company is two years old, we have so much to do, so much product stuff to fix, and so much growing to do."

Twitter was one of the fastest growing sites in the UK in 2008, recording a tenfold increase in traffic, according to data from online research firm Hitwise.

In figures released earlier this year, the firm ranked Twitter as number 291 in the most visited web sites in the UK, up from a ranking of 2,953. UK traffic to the site increased by a massive 974 per cent in 2008.

According to market research firm Nielsen Online, Twitter had over seven million unique visitors in February, compared to 475,000 the same time last year.

The success of the micro-blogging site has been helped by celebrities setting up accounts. US president Barack Obama, for example, used the tool to reach voters and solicit donations.

But it has not been all plain sailing for the San Francisco-based firm. Twitter has suffered from several high profile security incidents, the being a series of worm attacks over the Easter weekend.