Coronel said that journalists from these countries, as well as other countries with less-controlled press, value the Internet for being a promising outlet for free expression.

She added that the Internet is an unexplored field where 'it is still possible to lay a claim, to stake out an arena free from the constraints imposed by repressive states and the restrictions inflicted by profit-hungry media markets.'

'At little cost and with much more freedom than is possible in the real world, the Net provides a space for one of the most profound expressions of humanity: the need to speak out,' she said.