Tony Blair became the first world leader to set up a dedicated YouTube channel, as the video-sharing website launched nine sites across the globe in an attempt to engage with an international audience for the first time.

The outgoing Prime Minister was one of several British political and media groups who today have set up channels on the video-sharing site as they try to broaden their audience beyond their own websites.

However, significantly, YouTube conceded that, at this stage "a large proportion of its partnerships are promotional", meaning that there is no attempt to generate cash from sharing advertising.

The Google-owned YouTube hosted a press conference in Paris, its first outside the US, as it unveiled nine country-specific sites, including a UK site, with customised search, local language interfaces, and charts showing the most popular domestic content.

Other channels created range from FHM magazine, to a Paul McCartney site, and a home for Pingu, HIT Entertainment's animated penguin. That follows previously announced tie-ups with the BBC and Chelsea FC, as Google tries to show that it can partner with traditional media owners rather than cannibalise their revenue.

Tony Blair appeared on a video clip expressing surprise that he was "the first world leader to have his own YouTube channel" - as well as being arguably the shortest lived too - and said despite his own lack of computer literacy, he was "excited about the reach and accessibility of new media". YouTube has been used by politicians to develop campaign sites in the US, but no head of government has set up their own site.

Founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen appeared, but sidestepped all difficult questions with vague, imprecise answers. Although Mr Hurley argued that YouTube had the potential "to reduce conflict" because it gave people access to foreign cultures, when asked explicitly if the company had a "bottom line on censorship", he answered contradictorily: "Yes ... at the end of the day we want to comply with local laws."

A question about copyright concerns was similarly brushed over, with YouTube declining to give details about its level of litigation contingency. Mr Hurley said that copyright issues amounted to "a few per cent of videos on our own site" but otherwise declined to elaborate. YouTube faces a series of copyright protection actions from the likes of the Premier League.

Other country-specific sites created will be for Brazil, France, Italy, Japan and Spain, although there is no mention of a German site, serving the 100 million German speakers, to the evident frustration of German reporters present.

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