Iran's never been a fan of the real Internet. It completely blocked off Google and Gmail back in September before walking things back and letting Gmail through. Now, it's launched its own heavily-monitored, "safe" version of YouTube.
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Called "Mehr" which is a Farsi word for affection, the site provides a limited version of the video sharing capabilities YouTube provides to the rest of the world. The deputy chief of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting described it as a place where "people can upload their short films on the Web site and access [IRIB] produced material." Needless to say it is carefully monitored. Sounds like a blast, right? [AFP]