London - China has been blocking its citizens' access to Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store as of Monday, after it was found that some 40 athletes in the Olympic Village downloaded a "Songs for Tibet" protest compilation, Guardian.co.uk reported, citing a report on the state-sponsored China.org.cn.

The producers of the compilation, which includes songs from artists including Sting, Dave Matthews and Underworld, invited the athletes to download the album free of charge.

China.org.cn reports that Chinese netizens "expressed a wish to ban the album's singers and producers, most notably Sting, John Mayer and Dave Matthews, from entering China. Many people have made remarks on online forums to express their anger, even those who have been fans of the artists in the past."

"Some say they will boycott all Apple products from now on, including the popular iPhone, which is not available in China since negotiations among Apple, China Mobile and China Unicom broke down," the report continued.

Related Links:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/aug/21/china.blocks.itunes

http://snipurl.com/3ik00 (DMW previous coverage)

http://www.china.org.cn