South Korea's election watchdog on Friday lifted a ban using Twitter and other social networking sites for campaigning ahead of key polls later this year.

The National Election Commission's move came after the Constitutional Court last month condemned the ban as unconstitutional as it eliminated "economic and fair" means of campaigning, the Internet and social networking sites.

"Electioneering by the Internet, emails and social networking sites (SNS) are now allowed," the commission said in a statement.

"Those who are allowed to engage in campaigning can use Internet homepages including portal sites and blogs, as well as emails, mobile messengers, Twitter and other SNS," it said.

The decision was seen as a blow to the ruling conservative Grand National Party as young voters, frequent users of the Internet and social networking sites, tend to support opposition candidates.

South Korea will hold parliamentary elections in April and a presidential poll in December.

During a mayoral election in Seoul in October last year, young voters chatting through networking sites encouraged colleagues and friends to go to the polls and cast their ballots en masse. The election was won by an opposition-backed candidate.

Activist groups welcomed the decision.

"The move marks a major step forward in terms of voters' freedom of expression on the Internet," 52 leftist civic groups, including the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, said in a joint statement.

But the Citizens United for Better Society of the conservative bloc said safeguards should be set up in a bid to prevent the spread of slander and false information ahead of this year's major elections.

South Korea is one of the world's most wired countries, boasting a large population of smartphone and high-speed Internet users.

Indian court threatens to block Google, Facebook
New Delhi (AFP) Jan 13, 2012 - An Indian court has threatened to block sites such as Facebook and Google unless they take steps to eliminate "offensive and objectionable" content.

"You must have a stringent check. Otherwise, like in China, we may pass orders banning all such websites," the Delhi High Court said during a hearing Thursday with legal representatives for Facebook and Google India.

Both companies should "develop a mechanism to keep a check and remove offensive and objectionable material from their web pages", Justice Suresh Kait was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.

Communications Minister Kapil Sibal last month pledged a crackdown on "unacceptable" online content, saying Internet service providers had ignored India's demands to screen images and data before they are uploaded.

He provided examples of faked naked pictures of Indian political leaders and religiously sensitive images.

Sibal's comments provoked anger and derision among Indian Internet users, with experts arguing that such demands could not be enforced and smacked of state censorship.

"No human interference is possible and, moreover, it can't be feasible to check such incidents," Mukul Rohatgi, a lawyer for Google India, told the High Court hearing.

India, the world's largest democracy, has more than 110 million Internet users out of a population of 1.2 billion, with predictions that 600 million people will be online in the next five years.

Facebook and Google had moved the High Court to stay a summons issued last month by a lower court that is hearing a private criminal complaint against them.

Facebook is officially blocked in China, while Google pulled its search engine out of the country two years ago after a confrontation with Chinese authorities over censorship.