So why are authoritarian governments so worried about blogging?

'Revolution'
Blogging is a very, very important tool in terms of freedom of expression Julien Pain, Reporters Sans Frontières

Perhaps it is because the internet is so virulent.

In the same way that spammers can reach millions of people in an easy way, ideas deemed dangerously democratic by many regimes can spread faster than bacteria on a petri-dish.
Julien Pain, of Reporters Sans Frontières, says: "Blogging is a very, very important tool in terms of freedom of expression.

"Even if you don't know html or how to set up your own website, using a blog without any technical skill you can become a publisher.

"That's why it is so interesting. It is a kind of a revolution now.

"In a country like Iran people couldn't express themselves and now they can, because they are using blogs to tell the world about what they are living and their conditions."

But bloggers are not just getting under the skin of authoritarian regimes.
In the West, particularly in America, they are also making waves among traditional journalists.