The Air Force of the United States has blocked the access of its personnel to the Web sites of more than 25 news organizations and blogs that have posted secret cables obtained by WikiLeaks, Air Force officials said Tuesday.

When Air Force personnel on the service's computer network try to view the Web sites of The New York Times, the British newspaper The Guardian, the German magazine Der Spiegel, the Spanish newspaper El Pa?s and the French newspaper Le Monde, as well as other sites that posted full confidential cables, the screen says "Access Denied: Internet usage is logged and monitored," according to an Air Force official whose access was blocked and who shared the screen warning with The Times.

Violators are warned that they face punishment if they try to view classified material from unauthorized Web sites.

The Air Force's action was first reported on The Wall Street Journal's Web site late Tuesday and underscores the wide-ranging impact of the recent release of secret State Department documents by WikiLeaks, and five news organizations.

"It is unfortunate that the U.S. Air Force has chosen not to allow its personnel access to information that virtually everyone else in the world can access," said a spokeswoman for The Times, Danielle Rhoades Ha.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!