Facebook for Muslims Launched

It welcomed representatives from the two websites to contact the Pakistani government to resolve the dispute in a way that 'ensures religious harmony and respect'.

While thousands took to the streets to protest against the 'blasphemous' contest, other internet users simply switched to micro-blogging site Twitter to broadcast their protests against the crackdown to the world, which consequently surged with Pakistani traffic.

'Sad and embarrassing day in the history of Pakistan. Tough times to be a Pakistani. Questionable decisions in a so-called "democracy,"' one user tweeted.

'What's common to Facebook and Lashkar-e-Taiba?' one user on Twitter wrote, referring to a Pakistani militant group that is believed to have carried out the terrorist atrocities in Mumbai.

'They are both banned in Pakistan, but Pakistanis can still find them if they want to.'

Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have all been at the forefront of anti-government protests in the last few years, most notably during last year's Iranian elections.'.

It remains to be seen how successful the government will be at keeping Pakistan's nearly 20 million Internet users from accessing the blocked sites.

Other countries, such as China, permanently ban Facebook and YouTube. But citizens often have little trouble working their way around the ban using proxy servers and other means.