The great firewall of China allowed Google access for one hour this weekend
Chinese web users used Google for an hour this weekend after the search giant broke through the country’s firewall due to the implementation of new IP servers in Asia.
According to the South China Morning Post, bloggers started posting online that they had gained access to Google on Sunday night at 11.30pm, only to find that 'the great firewall of China' had once again shut it down by 1.15am.
It is believed that the search engine’s access was due to a new series of IP servers in Asian areas which the firewall didn’t recognise until later, when it was blocked again.
Despite gaining access to Google, Chinese internet users were unable to access other blocked services, such as Gmail, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Many Western internet giants have been blocked in China in a bid to regulate online communication, though all have been making inroads to gain access. China’s huge online population is a big draw for internet businesses and could lead to a huge amount of growth.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was reported to have visited China and met with propaganda chief Liu Yunshan to discuss the increasingly tight laws around online communication.