[JURIST] Microsoft [corporate website] has agreed to block Chinese users of its new MSN Spaces [corporate website] blogging portal from using certain words and phrases including "democracy", "freedom", "human rights", and "Taiwan independence". A blogger entering those terms gets a message along the lines of "This item should not contain forbidden speech such as profanity. Please enter a different word for this item." The Chinese government strongly encourages Chinese websites not to publish anything politically-charged, and will begin shutting down websites that are not registered [advocacy site]. Microsoft joins Yahoo and Google in cooperating with the Chinese government's censorship requirements in order to gain access to the market. AFP has more.