Google and the Google-owned YouTube received more than 10,000 requests for user data from government agencies in the six months ending 31 December 31, 2009, including more than 1,000 from the UK.

Between July 1 and December 31, Google received 1,116 requests for user data from UK government agencies. In the US the figure was 3,580, slightly less than the 3,663 originating from Brazil. Smaller numbers originated from various other countries.

"Like other technology and communications companies, we regularly receive requests from government agencies around the world to remove content from our services, or provide information about users of our services and products," Google says on a new site that sheds more light onto government demands for user information and requests to take offensive material off the web.