President Barack Obama will visit Facebook's California headquarters on April 20 and hold a town hall forum on the economy with Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, the White House said on Tuesday.

The event will be streamed live over the Internet and open to anyone anywhere who is able to watch it, the White House said on its Facebook page.

The White House page said potential participants could begin submitting questions immediately, by posting them on the event page on Facebook or on the White House website, and that Facebook would select questions for the event.

Obama met with Facebook founder Zuckerberg and other high-tech industry leaders in February during a visit to the West coast aimed at promoting technology innovation to boost the struggling U.S. economy and reduce stubbornly high unemployment, issues crucial to Obama's 2012 re-election prospects.

Facebook has reportedly expressed interest in hiring Robert Gibbs, Obama's former press secretary and a long-time aide, for a senior post.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, editing by Doina Chiacu AND Sandra Maler)

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