A SINGAPOREAN blogger is in the running to win US$10,000 (S$14,660) for what he does best: blogging.

Mr Kevin Lim, a current PhD student at the State University of New York in the US, has been shortlisted for what is claimed to be first-ever blogging scholarship anywhere.

Blogs are 'web logs', or diary-like entries published on a public website.

Only 20 college students in the US were selected as finalists in the programme organised by non-profit organisation The Daniel Kovach Scholarship Foundation, on its College Scholarships.org website.

'I didn't expect a response, but this week I received an email from the scholarship organisation,' Mr Lim told The Straits Times.

The 30-year-old has been studying in the US for about seven years, initially financed by his parents.

Later, he received a graduate assistantship at his university's Educational Technology Centre, which has helped pay for his Masters and PhD studies there.

He sent in an entry on the advice of his academic mentor, because he already has a vast collection of articles on his blog.

Since he became a blogger in 2004, he has written on a variety of topics from intellectual property rights to social phenomena in cyberspace.

'I've a fairly decent following, why not earn a scholarship at the same time?' he said.

As detailed on the College Scholarships.org website, The winner will be determined by a public balloting system on the college website. Polling will end Oct 28.

If he wins, Mr Lim said he plans to let his voters decide on how the money should be used, be it for a worthy cause or investment purposes.

'I will invite suggestions on how to spend the money on my blog and pick the best,' he said.