Turkey's ban on YouTube has been lifted after videos offending the country’s founder Ataturk were removed.

The announcement was made by Minister Binali Yildirim on Turkish national television and in the press.

The ban, which was first introduced in May 2008, lasted two years. However, many internet users found ways around the ban in Turkey by using proxy web pages to access the site illegally.

The ban on Google maps and other Google websites also appears to have been lifted in recent weeks too.

YouTube said it was aware that access to its site had been restored and was investigating the circumstances.

Fethiye Times that confirm from its own tests that YouTube is available from within Turkey via www.youtube.com.