Update: It turns out this is a hoax. Thanks to Trex for the tip.

A couple of weeks ago I went on record to testify that I think twitter to be one of the worlds most useless applications. Obviously I am in the minority with that opinion because Twitter has experienced enormous growth of late and shows no signs of stopping.

But one thing that has eluded the company is how to make money from the service, but that has all changed.

Premium accounts are now available for the taking for those who desperately want to get those extra few characters into their twits. The accounts are:

• Sparrow ($5/month)
  Users get 145 character limit, 5 extra random followers.
• Dove ($15/month)
  Users get 160 character limit, 25 extra random followers, 1 random celebrity follower, auto-spell check, "Fail Whale" T-shirt.
• Owl ($50/month)
  Users get 250 character limit, 100 extra random followers, 2 random celebrity followers, 30 minutes on recommended list, auto-spell check, "Fail Whale" hoodie.
• Eagle ($250/month)
  Users get 500 character limit, 1000 extra random followers, 3 celebrity followers of their choice, 5 hours on recommended list each month, Twitter Concierge for Tweeting while user is asleep or busy (and more), auto-spell check, "Fail Whale" tuxedo, custom "Fail Whale" page when service is down.

Dumb naming conventions aside, I can't imagine who in their right mind would pay for a Sparrow leave alone an Eagle.

If anyone actually takes on one of these accounts I would love to hear your reasoning.