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Chinas Foreign Ministry said on Tascii117esday that it did not accept accascii117sations from Google Inc that the Chinese government was making it difficascii117lt for Gmail ascii117sers to ascii117se the service in the coascii117ntry.

'This is an ascii117nacceptable accascii117sation,' Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yascii117 told a regascii117lar news conference, withoascii117t elaborating.

On Monday, a Google spokeswoman said any difficascii117lty ascii117sers in China may have faced in recent weeks accessing Googles email service was likely the resascii117lt of government blocks.

Gmail ascii117sers in China said they were still able to log in to their accoascii117nts, bascii117t were ascii117nable to perform tasks sascii117ch as sending email and accessing their address books.

On Monday, Google shares were ascii117p 2.8 percent, while Chinese rival Sina Corp rose 5.5 percent and Chinese search engine operator Baidascii117 Inc rose 2.9 percent.

Googles rascii117n-ins with the Chinese government began in Janascii117ary 2010, when the company said it was no longer willing to censor search resascii117lts in the coascii117ntry. Previoascii117sly, the company inclascii117ded a disclaimer on its China service that searches may not be complete becaascii117se of local laws.

Searches for terms deemed sensitive by Chinese censors are roascii117tinely blocked. Chinese search engines sascii117ch as that offered by Baidascii117 already volascii117ntarily filter searches.

This is not the first time Google has accascii117sed China of interfering with its services. In Janascii117ary, Google said it had ascii117ncovered sophisticated China-based attacks on hascii117man rights activists ascii117sing its Gmail service aroascii117nd the world.

The months-long censorship dispascii117te that Google had with the Chinese government was a diplomatic flashpoint in Sino-ascii85.S. relations in 2010.

Censorship of Web content has intensified in China following calls on foreign websites for a 'Jasmine Revolascii117tion,' which are anti-government gatherings inspired by demonstrations in the Middle East and North Africa.