Thailand blocked access to YouTube after complaining that a short clip on the popular video-sharing site is insulting to the country's beloved monarch, an Associated Press report said.
The Associated Press report quoted Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom, the country's minister of information and technology, as saying that YouTube had turned down his request to remove the contentious 44-second video, which shows graffiti-like elements painted over a slideshow of photographs of 79-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
One part of the clip juxtaposes pictures of feet over the king's image, a major taboo in a culture where feet are considered extremely dirty and offensive, the report said.
The soundtrack is the Thai national anthem, the report added.
According to Sitthichai, thousands of people have called the government to complain about the YouTube video, the report said.
Sitthichai said Thailand's military-installed government also has blocked other sites deemed insulting to the king, the report said.
Thailand has no comprehensive law governing the Internet, and limits governing use and censorship are not clearly defined, it added.