eBay AWOL after MoD ban

eBay has been banned from the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) office systems to stop soldiers surfing the auction site.

The virtual blockade follows a routine review of MoD IT policy and will affect office workers, including men and women in uniform.

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An MoD spokeswoman said: "Those on operations still have access [to eBay] so it's essentially office-based staff who are affected by the ban.

The MoD would not say why eBay in particular was cast off but the spokeswoman said: "As with many other employers, the MoD does not allow its networks to be used for private transactions on commercial auction sites, and so access to these sites has been blocked."

"Wherever possible, the MoD does provide internet access for personal use by military staff deployed on operations, and these systems are entirely unaffected by the MoD's office system ban on the use of eBay," she added.

eBay recently imposed a virtual blockade of its own to stop customers from using Google's online payments service, Checkout.