Egyptian activists said they were pleased to see Google take measures to enable protesters to distribute news and images across the globe as demonstrations in Egypt enter their 8th straight day. Google Inc initiated a special service that gives Egyptians the ability to send Twitter messages via a phone number and leaving a voicemail. “It is the right thing to do and a great move to support us on the ground,” said Mona, 29, via telephone on Tuesday afternoon Egyptian time. The move comes as the Egyptian government has turned off all Internet connections in the country. The decision has left protesters in complete blackness with the outside world, although media are maintaining coverage through satellite connections and phone calls into the country. The government also appears ready to close off all mobile services again, as it did last week. “Like many people we've been glued to the news unfolding in Egypt and thinking of what we could do to help people on the ground,” read a post on Google's official corporate blog on Monday. The service, which Google said was developed with engineers from Twitter, allows people to dial a telephone number and leave a voicemail. The voicemail is automatically translated into an audio file message that is sent on Twitter using the identifying tag #egypt, Google said. Google said in the blog post, titled “Some weekend work that will (hopefully) enable more Egyptians to be heard,” that no Internet connection is needed to use the service. It listed three phone numbers for people to call to use the service. Internet social networking services like Twitter and Facebook have been important tools of communications for protesters in Egypt who have taken to the streets since last week to demonstrate against the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Internet service has been suspended around the country and phone text messaging has been disabled. BM
