Amnesty International has developed a tool designed to monitor the extent of internet censorship in China, and is asking Australians to help use it.

The tool, known as the China Internet Censorship Index is designed to collect data and monitor the censorship framework known as the Great Firewall of China.

The CICI can help determine exactly which sites are blocked by the firewall. The tool can be used to conduct automated tests via proxy servers in China - measured against a control test checking availability from outside of the country.

There are also Amnesty International volunteers conducting frequent manual tests.

The tool generates a daily index which will be updated dynamically, and can be displayed on badges that can be put on blogs or social networking pages.

More information can be found at http://www.uncensor.com.au/