Vietnam government denies blocking networking site

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Vietnamese officials have denied they are deliberately blocking access to social networking site Facebook.

State internet service provider FPT says it has been working with foreign companies to solve a fault blocking connections to Facebook's US servers.

But many of Vietnam's one million users have been reporting problems accessing Facebook, which recently launched a Vietnamese-language version, for days.

And workers at many web firms say the government ordered them to block it.

The freedom of expression afforded by the internet has certainly preoccupied the authorities in recent months.

They have arrested several bloggers and online journalists, and ordered people to restrict their online writing to personal concerns.

Meanwhile, Facebook has said it would be very disappointed if users in any country were to have difficulties accessing its site.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8370762.stm