China relents to critics, opens Internet to Olympic journalists

Several Internet news sites blocked by the Chinese government are now available once again following growing criticism about the country's censorship during the Olympic Games.

Those protesting the restrictions point out that both the International Olympic Committee and China itself had promised that it would not curtail net access during the games. Seeing a potential for a public relations nightmare, the IOC met with Chinese officials to work out a deal.

An agreement in principle seems to have been reached late last night. While some sites do remain blocked, it appears a significant portion are back online. The IOC said it would work towards getting "unreasonable" blocks lifted, although it acknowledged that it knew some type of censorship would be taking place.

"The IOC has always encouraged the Beijing 2008 organizers to provide media with the fullest access possible to report on the Olympic Games, including access to the internet," the Olympics' governing body said.

China is widely considered one of the strictest countries when it comes to blocking the Internet. It regularly cuts off or controls access to sites outside the country, especially when it sees the content to be subversive or inappropriate.

Sites such as Amnesty International, the Voice of America, and the BBC's Chinese language site had been unblocked. In some cases, however, access was still sporadic. It appears socially sensitive sites were still being blocked as before.

Media expert Martin Warner said the news was encouraging, but he wanted to see more done. "It's important to know that this strategy will be sustained beyond the Olympics," he said. "[If it is] I do believe that this move will make China much more competitive on the global stage, and help their positioning considerably as people develop a better understanding of the Chinese."