A draft U.S. Army intelligence report has identified IT technologies that may become powerful weapons, including mobile phone GPS navigation, voice-changing software and Twitter mini-blogs, if used by terrorists.

It’s no news that some terror groups don’t hesitate to embrace the latest technology in pursuit of their goals. Not bound by military regulations or corporate instructions, they use Google maps as free reconnaissance and go online in search of new recruits.

Twitchy intelligence officers believe terrorists may use multiplayer games to practise combat tactics and plan their attacks.

The Twitter service which allows the posting and sharing of short text messages via its website, SMS, RSS or emails, is potentially the medium of choice for coordinating strikes, according to a draft U.S. Army report discovered by Wired magazine.

The possibility is theoretical so far, but the report cites the example of the protesters at the recent Republican National Convention, who tweeted with each other to report police movements.

The document goes on to outline three scenarios of how terrorists could use Twitter ranging from sharing near-realtime data from on-site operatives and timing an attack accordingly to using the service to track down and exploit the personal data of servicemen.

“If we have time to worry about 'Twitter threats' then we're in good shape,” commented veteran intelligence analyst Steven Aftergood. “I mean, it's important to keep some sense of proportion.”