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MPs jockey for Facebook buds

Globe and Mail Update

Stéphane Dion's page features his baby photos and lists Lawrence of Arabia as his favourite movie.

Michael Ignatieff's site describes his penchant for Glenn Gould.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's offers a video clip of his appearance on Corner Gas.

Visitors to the social-networking website Facebook can still make friends with some high-profile federal politicians.

But they will have a harder time connecting with Ontario officials – and if they want to link up with federal public works officials, they'll be out of luck.

This week, Facebook was blocked from government computers in Ontario – including those used by Liberal members of the provincial parliament – because it is a purely “social tool” and has been slowing down the computer network, according to Ministry of Government Services spokesman Paul De Zara.

Last year, YouTube was banned from Queen's Park computers on similar grounds. In April, Public Works and Government Services in Ottawa banned Facebook.

But a broader ban on Parliament Hill doesn't seem imminent.

“I've heard nobody mention a possible policy change,” says Sharon Bowles, a spokeswoman for the agency that oversees the federal public service.

But many elected officials say that Facebook is much more than a “social tool.”

In recent months, dozens of high-profile politicians have signed on to Facebook, which allows them to create profiles and connect with other site users.

Originally created for college and university students, Facebook has become the sixth most-visited site in the United States, and is continuing to grow in both Canada and the United States.