The ANU's chief information officer Peter Nikoletatos sent an email to all staff members advising them that an investigation by IT services had found computers in the ANU network were unable to view content from an increasing list of Chinese websites.

They included leading search engine Baidu and video sharing site Tudou, as well as sport and entertainment sites.

The blocking is understood to have started several months ago but the ANU refused to comment on the matter.

The university was doing what it could to restore connectivity to the Chinese websites, Mr Nikoletatos wrote.

''There is unfortunately no quick fix and very little we are able to do in this situation other than request the administrators of each website review the situation which, from past experience, leads us back to China Telecom and a comment regarding national security,'' he wrote.

''We understand the frustrations this is causing, and thank you for your feedback and patience during this time.''

Mr Nikoletatos said in the past ANU had encountered China's Golden Shield firewall system when accessing a library database in Shanghai and on that occasion the issue required China Telecom to make adjustments at their end.

He suggested as a short-term solution staff could try using an external virtual private network service hosted out of either Singapore or Hong Kong, which would provide a different point of origin to the websites.

''The university does not have any control over these services, nor can it assist in any support surrounding the services mentioned in the above links, and provides this information purely as an option. You must determine yourself whether you wish to use it,'' he wrote.