Scotland Yard is using social media to reach out to activists, in a marked departure from its handling of the G20 demonstrations.

Before Climate Camp constructed a huge campsite in London, senior officers in the Metropolitan police activated an account on Twitter, named CO11MetPolice after its public order unit codename, designed to send operational information to protesters.

The Met also hosted four meetings in an attempt to prepare for the protest. "The level of engagement from police has been there," said Francis Wright, a Climate Camp legal adviser. "We're pleased they have been forthcoming and have been making some of the right noises, but we have to see how they deliver on the day."

In a statement, the Met confirmed that it had hosted a meetings with Climate Camp representatives "to build a better dialogue between us" and had incorporated recommendations made in response to the G20. "We hope that through this dialogue we will be able to deliver a proportionate policing response to the camp. Some specific work has been undertaken to outline our policing strategy and tactics for the intended camp so their representatives can brief participants."

Whether the Met's embrace of Twitter will prove a useful tool to police a demonstration has to be seen. At the time of going to press, 450 people had signed up to be followers of the Met's tweets on the social networking site. At press time, just five tweets had been issued.