Australian government caught editing Wikipedia

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian Prime Minister John Howard's staff were Friday accused of editing entries in the online Wikipedia to remove potentially damaging details.

A spokesman for the prime minister said Howard had never asked staff to remove unfavourable comments from the website, which allows anyone to make contributions.

But according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, scores of edits were made by employees at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet -- including the removal of a reference to Treasurer Peter Costello as "Captain Smirk".

On Howard's controversial policy of mandatory detention for illegal asylum-seekers, an employee inserted the word "allegedly" into a statement saying immigration detainees were subject to inhumane conditions.

The 126 changes which came from Howard's department, tracked using a new website which reveals the digital fingerprint of those who edit Wikipedia, mostly had nothing to do with the government.