Fans of one of Germany's biggest up-and-coming youth bands, Tokio Hotel, have started an online petition with the aim of getting the boys to represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.

The band, hailing from East Germany, have been feted with a clutch of German Music Industry awards after a string of hit records at home, and with a UK release of their single "Scream" pencilled in for September, look set to increase their international fan base. It is this point that the petition site plays on, urging people to add their name "so at least we have a chance to win. Tokio Hotel have fans in the UK, France, Austria, Switzerland, Bosnia, Russia, Poland, Luxembourg, Ireland and more…"

Fan petitions : a mixed bag of success
This would not be the first time that fans have petitioned for their favourite singers to enter the Eurovision Song Contest, nor would it be the first time that fans have used petitions to try and influence the contest; after Lordi's selection for Finland in 2006, fans published enthusiastic support sites urging viewers to vote for Lordi to shake up the contest. However, fans' wishlists of successful acts for Eurovision have rarely triumphed; whether this fan list will succeed where most have failed, and persuade the highly successful Tokio Hotel to represent their country in Serbia, remains to be seen.

To add your name to the list, click here to visit the online petition!