Bill Gates has launched a new Web site called www.thegatesnotes.com. The site appears to serve as a place for the Microsoft chairman and philanthropist to share what's on his mind, what he's learning and photos from his trips.

He announced the new site on Twitter today. "Excited to share more about what I'm learning, hope you like it!" Gates wrote.

Gates is sharing what he's thinking about, what he's learning and stories from his travel, including a personally narrated slideshow on a July trip to India. The site includes his essays on innovation, green energy and education reform.

Site visitors can email him questions to answer in a section called "Infrequently Asked Questions." In "The Curious Classroom" section of the site, Gates answers questions from students.

It is interesting that Gates chose to launch a personal site separate from the Web site of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

On Tuesday, Gates began posting updates on Twitter under the user name @billgates and returned to Facebook with a fan page. To check out his Twitter page, go to www.twitter.com/billgates/. He is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/billgates/.