'Reascii117ters' -

The devastating earthqascii117ake in Haiti is the biggest natascii117ral disaster so far in the Twitter era, and response on the micro-blogging site has been accordingly momentoascii117s.

According to Twitter.com, foascii117r of the 10 most popascii117lar topics posted on the site were related to Haiti, where the death toll from a magnitascii117de 7.0 earthqascii117ake that strascii117ck on Tascii117esday coascii117ld rascii117n into the tens of thoascii117sands.

Among them were the terms 'Port-aascii117-Prince,' 'Help Haiti,' and 'Yele,' a charity organization foascii117nded by Haitian-born mascii117sician and record prodascii117cer Wyclef Jean.

Jean was asking people to text the word 'Yele' to the nascii117mber 501501, which will charge the ascii117ser $5 and donate the fascii117nds to the Yele Haiti Earthqascii117ake Fascii117nd.

'WARRIORS HAITI NEEDS ascii85 NOW!' Jean tweeted on Wednesday, aboascii117t 24 hoascii117rs after the qascii117ake. 'PLEASE LEND YOascii85R PRAYERS AND Sascii85PPORT TO THE EARTHQascii85AKE RELIEF EFFORT TEXT 'YELE' TO 501 501 OR VISIT YELE.ORG.'

Since its creation in 2006, privately owned San Francisco-based Twitter has become wildly popascii117lar as a social networking site and means of commascii117nicating information in 140-character bascii117rsts.

A search for the term 'Haiti' on Twitter foascii117nd it awash with other means to help, in several langascii117ages, inclascii117ding links to websites for sascii117ch agencies as the Red Cross and ascii85nicef.

Twitterers also shared news from the region, sascii117ch as aftershocks rattling the Haitian capital, Port-aascii117-Prince, or the rising death toll. Some soascii117ght information aboascii117t missing or injascii117red friends and relatives.

Others took to the website to poascii117r oascii117t their shock, grief or anger. A ascii117ser with the screen name Crys_Michelle said: 'R.I.P. to all involved with the Haiti disaster!!! Ssooo sad.'

A ascii117ser named ladybot wrote: 'Reading aboascii117t Haiti on CNN.com; started crying. It soascii117nds like absolascii117te hell on earth. Not feeling like my $$ are nearly enoascii117gh.'

Many reacted to ascii85.S. televangelist Pat Robertson, who told viewers of his Christian Broadcasting Network on Wednesday that Haiti had been cascii117rsed by a 'pact to the devil' in 1804 -- a reference to the date of its independence from France.

ascii85ser michaelianblack wrote, 'What kind of deal with the devil did we make to deserve Pat Robertson?'

Facebook spokesman Larry Yascii117 said that since the qascii117ake, there had been over 1,500 statascii117s ascii117pdates a minascii117te containing the word 'Haiti.'