PARIS: Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Google search engine remained blocked in most parts of China as the country's government brought in additional measures to curb public's0 access to information.
The organization said internet users in many major Chinese cities had difficulty connecting to www.google.com, the uncensored international version of Google. It also said the blockade was extended to Google News and Google's Gmail mail service.
Reporters Without Borders said the search company seems to have joined the club of western companies that comply with online censorship in China. "It is deplorable that Chinese Internet users are forced to wage a technological war against censorship in order to access banned content."
The censored version of Google, Google.cn, was meanwhile accessible in the country. Google.cn was launched in January as the company, in a controversial decision, agreed to censor its service as per the requirement of the Chinese government. Google.cn omits politically sensitive information that might be retrieved during internet searches, such as details about the June 1989 suppression of political unrest in Tiananmen Square.
According to independent analysts, users of Google.cn are not even up to 1 per cent of people who use Google.com and there is speculation that Google may even abandon the effort, although Google founder Sergei Brin had said Google is committed to doing business in China despite the criticism the company had faced by agreeing to the Chinese government's censorship requirements.
Direct access to Google.com was not possible for nearly two weeks and even popular workarounds like DynaPass and Ultrasurf that helped access to the search engine were deactivated under the crackdown, Reporters Without Borders said.
Google said it is investigating reports that its site has been blocked in China.
However, according to later reports, the blockade had been lifted.
Meanwhile, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said while China welcomes internet companies working in the country, they must respect and abide by the country's laws, including those on expression.
The remarks came in the wake of Brin admitting in his comments to the press in Washington that the search company had compromised its principles by acceding to Chinese censorship demands.
The spokesperson said China took a positive attitude while deciding to work with companies like Google, but any cooperation must exist "within a framework of law." He said the Chinese government hoped firms would abide by China's regulations.
