Egyptian revolutionaries have invited Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to visit the freshly democratized country in an expression of gratitude for Facebook’s role in the January revolution.

They have asked the country’s Minister of Culture Imad Abu Ghazi to formally invite Zuckerberg, who has already expressed pride in Facebook’s role in the popular uprising.

Analysts agree social networks and online communication played a crucial role in rallying the lethargic masses against regimes in Egypt and Tunisia, as well as the rest of the Arab world.

Cairo University professor Sherif al-Labban believes Facebook provided Egypt’s youth with an unprecedented way to gather momentum for the revolution which toppled the Mubarak regime, which had been in power since before Zuckerberg was even born.

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