LinkedIn blocked in China

Professional networking website LinkedIn has been blocked in China after a user set up a discussion group to suggest that Tunisia’s “Jasmine Revolution” spread to the country, Bloomberg reported. While it is uncertain whether the founding of the discussion group was directly linked to the site being blocked, a LinkedIn spokesman said the blocking appeared to be part of a wider effort by government censors involving a number of websites. Users of Sina’s (SINA.NASDAQ) Weibo micro-blogging platform have faced restrictions on search terms including “Jasmine” and “Hong Bopei,” the Chinese name of US Ambassador to China John Huntsman, who appeared outside a McDonald’s (MCD.NYSE) restaurant in Beijing that had been named in an online call for protest.