If the ultimate goal of marketing is to help close a sale, Dell Computer could be seen as the poster child for Twitter marketing. The Austin, Texas-based computer company now offers special deals to Twitter users.

The new program was announced by Bob Pearson, VP-communities and conversations at Dell, who has been on the edge of Web marketing for some time. He maintains both a blog and, now, a Twitter post.

Nor is Pearson's the only Twitter account. Dell has a total of 80 Twitter aliases for product and service groups across the globe, Pearson said.

Retailers were bound to try to harness the reaching power of Twitter, especially in an economic downturn. Dell became one of the first, writing tweets with the Twitter handle @DellOutlet to offer discounts on refurbished Dell products. If a you click on the link in the message, it takes you to a Dell Outlet page.

Tesco, a convenience and grocery store chain, is also using Twitter to announce sales and discounts.

More about Dell's presence and plans on Twitter can be found at dell.com/twitter.