Aids to President-elect Barack Obama say they expect the new chief executive to have a laptop on his desk even if he has to give up his Blackberry.

The New York Times reported Sunday that a federal law known as the Presidential Records Act requires presidential communications to be placed in the official record, and there is the question of e-mail security.

Obama was noticeably connected online to friends and supporters during the campaign. His team is now determining to what extent he will be able to e-mail people directly from the Oval Office.

The Times said President Bush had to step out of cyberspace after he was elected and sent out a final e-mail to 42 associates saying he would miss communicating with them.