Enemies of the internet named and shamed

A list of 13 countries that represent a threat to freedom of expression on the internet has been published by human rights campaigners Reporters Without Borders.

The group uses two criteria to justify the inclusion of countries. The first is the level of online censorship. This could include banning of political opposition sites and excessive monitoring of internet activity. The banning of internet communication tools such as Google's Gtalk IM service, which is forbidden in Burma, is also a problem.

Countries that arrest or harass so-called cyber-dissidents - people who use the internet to oppose the government - will also find themselves on the list.

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Julien Pain, head of the Reporters Without Borders' internet freedom desk, told silicon.com the organisation hopes international pressure as a result of the list could force countries to change their ways. Newly included Egypt could well respond positively, he said, but conceded it would be difficult to force North Korea or China to change their ways in the near future.

Libya, the Maldives and Nepal were removed from the list this year as a result of fact-finding missions that revealed there were no longer any jailed cyber-dissidents, said Pain, who added that censorship of the internet in these countries has been significantly relaxed.

The full list of countries is: Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.