The senior minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, has warned Asian governments that they face losing credibility if they don't deal more openly with the media.

Mr Lee told a conference in the United States that information technology, particularly the Internet, is eroding the ability of governments to control the flow of news and information.

He said that if they try to fight the new technology they will lose -- and pointed to the international reaction to images of the supression of pro-democracy protests in China and Indonesia.

Mr Lee urged governments to learn to present and defend their own positions more effectively. -- saying the televised debate between the Presidents of the United States and China was a turning point in Beijing's relations with the media.