Vietnamese authorities have reportedly started blocking Facebook, in an attempt to stop dissent in the communist nation.

So far, the block doesn't seem to be complete and some users are finding ways of getting around it thought proxies or an open DNS setup. However, using a social networking site while most of its users can't log on does sound somewhat pointless.

Vietnam has around 1 million Facebook users and earlier this year it introduced a localized version in Vietnamese. Workers from several Vietnamese telcos confirmed government officials ordered them to block the popular site, but no reason for the block was ever given and Vietnamese authorities don't really feel the need to comment.

More here.