Prior to June's presidential elections, Iran's government is blocking access to the social networking site Facebook.

It appears the leading challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is using the site for more than catching up with his Iranian high school friends.  According to a BBC report, the Iranian Labour News Agency alleges Mousavi is using the site for his campaign. It's hard to understand the impact Mousavi's 5,000 Facebook friends can have on an election in a country with over 65 million citizens, but it appears to be enough to make Ahmadinejad nervous.

Of course, you don't have to look to Iran for examples of popular social websites being blocked. Our readers report that large and popular social networks, as well as blogging platforms and other arenas for personal expression, have limited or no access in US government offices and military bases. So much for free access and transparency, when the internet is being used more and more as a source of information.

If you aren't at work or in Iran, you can visit Mousavi's Facebook page.

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