China lifts Great Firewall for golf World Cup

HAINAN, China, Nov 25 (AFP): International golf stars, spectators and media at the World Cup on the southern Chinese island of Hainan are enjoying uncensored Internet access denied to 1.3 billion Chinese. China's communist leaders maintain strict control over what the country's huge online population can see, blocking sensitive content as part of a vast censorship system known as the Great Firewall. But the Hong Kong brothers who own the five-star Mission Hills golf complex in Hainan have used their close ties with Beijing to guarantee unprecedented open service during the November 23-27 event.