Countdown to Twitter share sale

The financial world is braced for the next big social networking share sale.

Twitter is set to start trading on Thursday on Wall Street.

The New York Stock Exchange got the gig rather than the traditional market for technology and internet stocks – the Nasdaq – after it stumbled with the disastrous Facebook launch.

As with Facebook, Twitter is in strong demand by investors so the NYSE has tested and retested its systems to ensure nothing goes wrong.

The microblogging network raised the price in the run-up to this initial public offering of shares.

Even with 230 million users – including world leaders, celebrities and activists – Twitter has yet to make a profit, but that is not deterring investors who have their orders in, betting the price will soar as soon as trading starts.