A view of the the Pope2You Web site on a computer screen Friday in Rome. Pope Benedict XVI, at the center of the home page, has entered the world of social networking sites and smartphones with a Vatican portal that includes Facebook and iPhone applications. The Pope2You Web site was launched Thursday.

Vatican City ? Web surfers can now send virtual postcards of Pope Benedict XVI to their Facebook friends or follow the pontiff’s travel on their iPhones.

Under a papacy that has suffered communication woes, the Vatican is taking new, technologically savvy steps to bring its message to social networking sites and smartphones.

In its first day of operation Thursday, the Pope2You portal gathered some 45,000 contacts and 500,000 page views, while a Facebook application that sends postcards with photos of Benedict and excerpts from his messages was used around 10,000 times, the head of the project said.

Also available on the portal is an application for iPhone and iPod Touch that gives surfers video and audio news on the pope’s trips and speeches, as well as on Catholic events worldwide.

The new Web site is the latest update in the Vatican’s efforts to broaden the pope’s audience and reach out to young people. In January, Benedict got his own YouTube channel, which is now linked to the portal.

While warning against the potential use of new media to spread violent messages and pornography, the 82-year-old Benedict also has encouraged young Catholics to use the Internet responsibly.

On Wednesday he told pilgrims at his weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square that young people should use the Internet to build a better world through bonds of friendship and solidarity, adding that the digital world can help make the Gospel known.