Twitter is getting some serious celebrity support in the UK at present, with a number of high-profile figures (mainly from popular TV and radio shows) now using the microblogging service.

The likes of Stephen Fry, Jonathan Ross, Russell Brand, Philip Schofield, Alan Carr and Andi Peters are definitely confirmed, while Adrian Edmonson, Rik Mayall and a host of others are either unconfirmed (by me, anyway) or are impostors (update: the “RikMayall” account is fake). (Apologies to non-UK readers who may never have heard of many of these names)

Therein lies one problem: plenty of people are happy to set up “fake” accounts and pretend to be a particular celebrity. Presumably it gives them some kind of buzz, and it’s much easier to fool at least a small number of fans online that in real life. read more

NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal is the latest in the celebrity line of spokesperson’s for Twitter. As the story goes, he started tweeting since someone was impersonating him on Twitter, and he is obviously enjoying himself:

“Somebody out there was trying to use my language and trying to speak for me,” O’Neal, sounding more amused than offended, said Wednesday night in a telephone interview. “Rather than have that happen, I thought I’d do it myself.”

Check out the good natured fake Shaq tweets that started it all, and follow Shaq himself if you’re into his funky way of dishing out words. Naturally, you should also follow the Blog Herald on Twitter.

Hat tip, Silicon Alley Insider and Twitter blog.