The US has opened up a new front in its information war with the Chinese authorities by financing the development of a computer system designed to thwart attempts by Beijing to censor the Internet.
The CIA, through its Washington-based technology company, In-Q-Tel, is investing in SafeWeb, a computer company which specializes in technology to help internet users cover up their tracks.
SafeWeb says its mission is to "develop solutions that protect the flow of digital information on the internet" -- in other words, to allow people to use the web without leaving traces of which sites they have visited.
SafeWeb, based in northern California, has acquired many users in China who do not want the government to know what they are accessing.
Its service lets volunteers turn their PCs into gateways into the SafeWeb network, thus foiling attempts of the Chinese and many other governments to censor the internet.
The scheme is likely to be seen as provocative in Beijing at a time when several prolonged spy rows with Washington have stretched the tolerance of both sides.
The CIA will fund the project out of a US$5 million allowance from Congress for "internet and multimedia enhancement".
The CIA and In-Q-Tel confirmed on Friday that they now have a contract with SafeWeb and are in discussions on further projects.
There are 30 million Internet users in China, a threefold increase on two years ago. The battle to give them access to banned sites, mainly those providing news, human rights information or concerning the Falun Gong movement, is given an extra frisson by the fact the SaveWeb's chief executive, Dr Stephen Hsu, is a Chinese American.
Dr Hsu, currently on leave from his position as professor of theoretical physics at the University of Oregon, said it became clear that the Chinese government was acting energetically to restrict the internet access of its citizens. Some western sites, he said, were already practising self-censorship by not putting articles that might offend Beijing on their sites.
Sandra Song, communications director at SafeWeb, said other governments also tried to prevent their citizens from accessing the internet. One of the worst was Saudi Arabia, but others included Singapore, Vietnam, Iran, Algeria, Yemen, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
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