Iran has launched its very own home built and government sanctioned alternative to a popular video sharing website, YouTube called 'Mehr', or affection in Farsi.

The Web page of Iranian state TV says that Mehr has been launched to promote Iranian and Islamic culture and artists. The problem with a state backed site - It is open to governments monitoring and control.

Other social websites like the popular Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are already banned in Iran as the Iranian officials claim that the Western governments are waging a "soft war" against the Islamic Republic.

Lotfollah Siahkali, deputy chief of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said, "From now on, people can upload their short films on the website and access (IRIB) produced material."

Meanwhile, Iran is planning to launch its own national intranet, separate from the global internet, that it says will be clean of un-Islamic content. Authorities claim the "National Internet" would not cut access to the Internet