US Boosts Web Freedom Efforts in China, Iran

A day after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's pledge to promote Internet freedom, efforts by U.S. diplomats to generate debate on the issue on Twitter-like microblogs in China -- which has the world's most Internet users -- ran up against the country's sophisticated censorship system.

The virtual tussle highlighted the growing importance of such microblogs in China as a new frontier for lively discussion and information sharing that is so fast-paced that censors often have difficulty keeping up. It also pointed out the growing efforts of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing in trying to interact with Chinese citizens. The Obama administration has sought to significantly increase the use of social media over the past year, but the recent Middle East turmoil has catapulted such initiatives to the forefront. Sec Clinton specifically ordered up the use of Arab-language and Farsi-language tweets as democratic protests gathered force across the Middle East in recent weeks.