The government blocks almost every website that carries news or information about the Southeast Asian country, and even bars access to web-based email.

But an army of young techies in Rangoon works around the clock to circumvent the censors, posting pictures and videos on blogs almost as soon as the protests happen.

Many of these images have been picked up by mainstream news organizations, because bloggers have managed to capture images that no one else can get.

When Burma's detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi stepped outside her home in Yangon [formerly Rangoon, is the largest city and former capital of Myanmar, which was previously known as Burma] to greet marching monks and supporters on Saturday, the only pictures of the landmark moment were posted on blogs.

Mizzima News, an India-based news group run by exiled dissidents, picked up one of the photos of Aung San Suu Kyi and said more than 50,000 people accessed their website that day.

"People were saying they wanted to see more pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi," said Sein Win, Mizzima's managing editor.

These bloggers are mainly young university students in Rangoon who have made it their mission to post messages and pictures since the anti-junta rallies began there on August 19, he said.

"We have many volunteers in Rangoon. They are mostly university students and they keep sending us messages, pictures and video clips about the demonstrations," said Sein Win.

Messages on blogs have applauded Buddhist monks, who have led the protest movement. The movement has grown into the biggest challenge to the junta since a 1988 uprising that was crushed by the military, killing at least 3,000.

"Many people were thanking monks for their courage, and were rallying support behind monks," Sein Win said from Thailand's northern city of Chiang Mai.

"The censorship is very tough, but many people want the world to know what is happening in Burma," he said.

The California-based Mandalay Gazette also said young people in Rangoon were supplying pictures on the protests.

"It's encouraging to see messages of support coming as far as Russia, and some messages said monks were correcting the junta's 'wrongdoing,'" said a US-based editor, who declined to be named.

A Thai-based Burmese reporter from the Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norway-based broadcaster, said it had received video clips and photos from "many volunteers" in Yangon since the protests began last month.

"The quality of pictures from Yangon is very good. Many young people were helping us, and the junta cannot control our freedom of information," said the reporter, who operates anonymously for safety reasons.

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders has called Burma a "paradise for censors" and listed the military-ruled nation as one of the world's most restrictive for press freedoms.

Since the protests, the regime has cut off the mobile phones of prominent pro-democracy supporters and of some journalists representing foreign media.

State media on Tuesday accused the foreign press of stirring unrest.

No foreign journalist has obtained a visa to enter Burma, under military since 1962, since the start of the anti-junta rallies, rights groups said.

savvy having practical knowledge and understanding of something junta a military government that has taken power by force swelling growing; increasing; mounting bar to prevent someone from doing something access the opportunity or right to use something or to see something army a large number of people or things techies people who are expert in, or enthusiastic about technology, especially computers circumvent to find a way of avoiding a rule or a difficulty

detained prevented from leaving a place; in this case, her own home exiled forced to live in another country, especially for political reasons or as a punishment dissidents people who strongly disagree with and criticize their government, especially in a country where this kind of action is dangerous mission an important job volunteers people who do a job willingly without being paid for it applauded praised uprising a situation in which a group of people join together in order to fight against the people who are in power courage the ability to do something dangerous, or to face pain or opposition, without showing fear

rallying bringing people together in order to help or support something or someone; coming together in large numbers declined refused politely anonymously without being named paradise a perfect place for a particular kind of activity or person restrictive preventing people from doing what they want prominent important or well known state media government controlled newspapers, television, etc. stirring causing people to feel strongly about something or become excited unrest a political situation in which people are angry and likely to protest or fight