The Pentagon has decided to allow its troops to use social networking sites like YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace et al.

Earlier, around 10 social media sites were blocked by the US Military in accordance with the order passed by the Pentagon.

The order was taken to ensure the security of military computers and also to safeguard the usage of bandwidth in the military zone.

The new policy was announced by William Lynn, the Deputy Defense Secretary of the Pentagon. In the announcement he said that by following all security precautions and ethical guidelines, the troops can avail unrestricted access to Internet as well as other social networking sites.

He also revealed in a nine-page policy memo that the unclassified Internet gateway of the US military will be reconstructed. This will be done to provide access to different Internet-based capabilities.

Mr. Lynn also informed that official uses of Internet-based capabilities are always allowed. But when some personal opinions are being expressed, the postings will include a disclaimer.

Apart from that, access to sites engaging in pornography, hate-crimes or gambling is strictly prohibited. Only a few social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Orkut will be available to the troops.