London -- NATO must make better use of networking sites and other social media to explain to the public what it does, its new supreme allied commander in Europe said last week -- starting with his own Facebook page.

Admiral James Stavridis, who took over as NATO's top commander in Europe in July, admitted that "not everybody loves us" and the military alliance must seek out new ways to convince people of its role in global security.

"We need to get out into social media, we need to get out in creative ways to move a message about NATO -- why it matters, what it is, where it's involved and where we want to take it," he told a meeting in London.

"I'm on Facebook, friend me!" he added.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is also on Facebook and is signed up to micro-blogging site Twitter, where one post on Tuesday revealed he had a "terrific meeting with Prez Obama and his cabinet."

AFP/Expatica