New York, July 18 (DPA) The popular microblogging service Twitter is exploring new business models.

The newest idea is special deals for Twitter users. The deals would be financed by companies that use the Twitter account @earlybird for advertising, reported Twitter on its website.

Deals will initially be almost exclusive to American markets. But, over time, it's possible that the deals could be expanded to other regions or focus on broader categories, like music or fashion.

Twitter, which lets users send messages up to 140 characters long, has grown rapidly to more than 12 million users. But the Californian start-up has had a hard time earning money. Plans for an advertising campaign met with sharp resistance from Twitter users.

The solution for this special way of offering deals is designed to toe the line because it would only focus on users who subscribe to @earlybird. If the idea proves popular, Twitter could grow into a serious competitor for special deal services like Groupon.