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Last Updated: 2/14/2010 5:45:27 AM
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Google: Iranian users having trouble accessing Gmail

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Iranian users are having trouble accessing Gmail , Google said Wednesday following a newspaper report that Iran's telecoms agency had permanently suspended the Internet giant's email service.

"We have heard from users in Iran that they are having trouble accessing Gmail," Google said in a statement.

"We can confirm a sharp drop in traffic and we have looked at our own networks and found that they are working properly," the Mountain View, California-based company said.

"Whenever we encounter blocks in our services we try to resolve them as quickly as possibly because we strongly believe that people everywhere should have the ability to communicate freely online," Google said.

"Sadly, sometimes it is not within our control," it added.

Google's statement came after The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran's telecommunications agency had announced a permanent suspension of Google's Gmail and planned to roll out a national email service for Iranian citizens.

The Journal quoted an unidentified Iranian official as saying the measure was meant to boost local development of Internet technology and to build trust between people and the government.

The reported move comes on the eve of street marches in Iran marking the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution and opposition plans to hold anti-government demonstrations.

Opposition supporters have since June taken every opportunity to stage protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose June 12 re-election they say was massively rigged.

Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have urged a large turnout by their supporters on Thursday.

Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds wounded in protests since the presidential election. In the latest flare-up, eight people died in clashes between police and protesters on December 27 when opposition supporters used the annual Shiite Ashura ceremonies to stage anti-government rallies.

Opposition supporters in Iran have used social networking services such as Google-owned YouTube , Twitter , Facebook and other sites in their communications efforts.

Source: Yahoo

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