Thailand's government on Wednesday blocked the popular Web site YouTube because of a short film mocking the country's king.

The 44-second clip shows pictures of feet over a picture of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Feet are considered dirty and offensive in Thailand.

The Thai national anthem is played as the film's soundtrack.

Thai Minister of Information and Technology Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said the government considered the clip a serious infraction.

"We asked Google, YouTube's owner, to remove it some days ago, but they refused to," he said. "People who create these Web sites are abusing their rights and clearly don't mean well for the country."

Thousands of people have contacted the government to complain about the clip, Sitthichai claimed. Access to the site would be granted again once the clip is removed, he added.

"We are disappointed that YouTube has been blocked in Thailand and we are currently looking into the matter," said Julie Supan, YouTube's head of global communications.

Breaking Thailand's lčse majesté law, which bans insults to the king, is considered serious in the country.

Last month, a Swiss man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to five charges of insulting the monarch.

Because he admitted to drunkenly defacing posters of the king, his sentence was reduced to 10 years.