The US treasury¹ department has eased sanctions on Iran, Cuba and Sudan to help further the use of web services and support opposition² groups.

美国财政部减轻对伊朗、古巴和苏丹的制裁，以帮助这些国家使用网络服务和提供对在野党的支持。

organise³ protests" width="226" height="170" src="/upimg/100309/4_052217_1.jpg" />
Opposition groups in Iran used social networking sites to organise protests

US technology firms will now be allowed to export online services such as instant messaging and social networks.

Companies had not offered such services for fear of（避免，唯恐） violating sanctions.

Opposition supporters in Iran used social networking sites and services to organise protests after the country's disputed presidential poll last year.

The US Treasury said exports would be allowed of services related to web browsing⁴, blogging, e-mail, instant messaging, chat, social networking and photo- and movie-sharing.

Low impact?

The move was intended to "ensure that individuals in these countries can exercise their universal right to free speech and information to the greatest extent possible", it said.

"As recent events in Iran have shown, personal internet-based communications like e-mail, instant messaging and social networking are powerful tools," Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin said.

The department has allowed the export of services to all three countries, and the export of communications software only to Iran and Sudan, as the export of software to Cuba is governed by the commerce department.

Last year, software giant Microsoft barred users in five countries, including Iran, Cuba and Sudan, from using instant messaging services. People trying to use the service received an error message.

It is not clear whether the governments affected⁵ will be able impose（强加，利用） their own restrictions⁶（限制） on these services.

In Cuba, the numbers of internet users is still very low, so lifting sanctions may not have a major impact, observers say.

Earlier this year, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US would be supporting the development of new tools to enable citizens to circumvent⁷（包围，绕行） politically-motivated censorship（审查机构，审查制度） .

Any country which restricted free access to information risked "walling themselves off from the progress of the next century", she added.