The ruling junta in Burma has cut internet access to citizens in an attempt to stop footage of pro-democracy protests escaping the country.

Internet cafés have been closed and the state ISP is claiming that a damaged cable has led to a total internet shutdown across the country.

The latest protests have been filmed extensively on mobile phones and video cameras and sent across the web.

"They are going to delay the message, but they are not going to stop it," British journalist Dominic Faulder told Reuters. "This time, there will be more pictures and they will come out."

Burma is subject to some of the strictest censorship in the world, but images of the protests, including the beatings of Buddhist monks and the killing of a Japanese photographer, have all been sent out via the internet.