Gmail Blocked in China, Great Firewall Suspected

Google Inc's Gmail was blocked in China after months of disruptions to the world's biggest email service, with an anti-censorship advocate suggesting the Great Firewall was to blame.GreatFire.org, a China-based freedom of speech advocacy group said, large numbers of Gmail web addresses were cut off in China on Friday. Google's own Transparency Report, which shows real-time traffic to Google services, displayed a sharp drop-off in traffic to Gmail from China on Friday. Almost all of Google's services have been heavily disrupted in China since June this year, but until last week Gmail users could still access emails downloaded via protocols like IMAP, SMTP and POP3.