Zurich blocks staff's access to Facebook

Zurich blocks staff's access to FacebookGeneva  - The city of Zurich began to block Wednesday its employees from accessing the social networking Website Facebook using office computers.

The move, local media reported, came after the municipality had given employees a "last chance" in April to reduce the time spent on the site and the number of visits. When that condition was not met, the city moved to block access altogether.

Reportedly, while the number of visits initially dropped, the slow summer months sent more traffic from Zurich's workers to the site.

The ban by the city council also will include other similar networking Websites.

Should they need to access the sites for work-related reasons, the employees can ask for special permission. (dpa)