HONG KONG users of Compuserve will be able to gain access to sexually explicit sites on the Internet after a change of policy by the world's largest online service provider.
The German Government had complained such sites were accessible to children and therefore were contravening German law.
In attempting to comply with German law, Compuserve blocked the sites for all its subscribers around the world.
The offensive discussions are posted on the Internet in areas known as newsgroups, of which there are thousands, ranging from the seriously scientific to the absurd. The content does not include pictures but is only textual.
Late last week, Compuserve set up 200 sites around the world to enable people outside Germany to access the material.
Although Compuserve has not yet worked out all the details, a spokesman said in future it planned to offer subscribing countries the chance to block out areas they did not want people to access.
