The Iranian leadership has begun a debate on the use of the Internet in Iran, amid warnings from senior clergy of the potential threat to Islamic morals.

The debate was organised by the Expediency Council, which arbitrates on legal and theological disputes.

Its chairman, the former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, said the government wanted to discuss the constructive and efficient use of the Internet.

The government has staretd to open up the Internet to popular use, although up until now it's been reserved for the elite, and for universities and government cultural institutions.