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Pakistan’s government has banned access to the video-clip website YouTube because of anti-Islamic movies posted on the site, an official said yesterday. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority told the country’s 70 internet service providers that the popular website would be blocked until further notice. The authority did not specify what the offensive material was, but a PTA official said the ban concerned a trailer for an forthcoming film by Dutch politician Geert Wilders. The film portrays Islam as a fascist religion prone to inciting violence against women and homosexuals. The unnamed official said the PTA had also blocked websites showing the controversial Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The drawings were originally printed in European newspapers in 2006, but were reprinted by some papers last week. The PTA urged internet users to write to YouTube and request the removal of the films, saying that the authorities would stop blocking the video-sharing site once that had happened.

What’s more, Pakistan’s attempts to block access to YouTube have been blamed for a near global blackout of the site on Sunday. The nearly two-hour long blackout was almost certainly connected to Pakistan Telecom and internet service provider PCCW. A leading net professional told BBC News: “This was probably a simple mistake by an engineer at Pakistan Telecom. There’s nothing to suggest this was malicious.” It is believed Pakistan Telecom “hijacked” the web server address of the popular video site. IP hijacking involves taking over a web site’s unique address by corrupting the internet’s routing tables, which direct the flow of data around the world.

Source: CNN, BBC