Numbers of users accessing the BBC website via Chinese servers shot up from less than a hundred to over 16,000 yesterday, after the 'great firewall of China' was unofficially lifted.

 "Technology experts say such a development would not be possible without the approval of internet service providers - which are under strict supervision by Beijing."

This is as good an indication as any that authorities plan to honour their promise of granting foreign journalists more freedom in the run-up to this summer's Olympic Games.  

It will be interesting to see whether further Western information sites are made accessible in the next few months but even more interesting to see how long these lines of communication are allowed to stay open after all the medals have been doled out...