KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSUA: They have become constant targets in the Malaysian Indian blogs but the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) still wants to recognise and honour Indian bloggers.

Putera MIC will hold the Manya Blogger Awards 2008 ceremony in August to announce the best bloggers in nine categories.

The categories are Most Popular Male Blogger, Most Popular Female Blogger, Best Entertainment Blog, Best Multi-Authored Blog, Best Personal Blog, Best Photoblog, Best Sociopolitical Blog, Best Tech Blog and Best Tamil Blog.

The majority of the Indian bloggers, numbering about 1,000 are critical of the MIC, said P. Kamalanathan, Putera MIC national co-ordinator.

"Bloggers are critical Malaysians which is good for the country. We do accept their constructive criticisms," said Kamalanathan, yesterday.

He added Malaysian Indians tend to focus on blogs where the contents are sensitive in nature.

"I guess it is because news sells," he added.

Putera MIC chairman for the ICT bureau Novinthen Krishnan said the majority of bloggers were students aged between 23 and 24.

"We still accept their views because young minds change the political world," he added.

He said the 39 nominees were picked by Putera MIC and a group of professional bloggers.

"These nominees were chosen not only because they gave constructive criticism but they also offered ways to address issues affecting the Indians."

The winners will be chosen through an online poll at www.manyaawards.com and also by a team of three judges.

The one-month-long poll carries a weightage of 60 per cent while the judges' decision is 40 per cent.