Olympic athletes who also have a personal blog will have to be very careful what they write about.

Strict regulations have been laid down and athletes who dare to wander off tangent and write anything – how shall I put it – unflattering about China might have their Olympic accreditation confiscated which in turn means they would not be able to compete in the Olympic events.

The International Olympic Committee claims that the athletes do have the freedom of speech but then goes on to quote a number of rules which prevents athletes from commenting on anything that might be related to China, the Chinese government or their own national Olympic committee.

The head of UK’s Amnesty International China campaign Kristyan Benedict has cried foul: “All over China, people who criticize the government in their blogs or other websites can face censorship or even arrest. The IOC have failed to hold the Chinese authorities to their Olympic promise of improving human rights. Now there are worries that athletes’ free speech might be restricted as well.”