An official in a state government building used Google to access the Internet and plugged in three words: Bob Riley, gambling. Dozens of options popped up, including a YouTube video titled "Governor Bob Riley on Gambling," in which the governor explains why he thinks electronic bingo is illegal in Alabama.

Just to the right of the video, listings of dozens of other related YouTube sites scroll down the page. The same official, who asked not to be named, tried clicking on several other sites, all with a different point of view and some from candidates running for office in Alabama this year.

When the official tried to click on any of those sites, a blue-framed message from the state Finance Department's Information Services Division popped up on the computer monitor. The messages indicated the sites were blocked.

The Finance Department is the central site for the state's vast, interconnected computer system that is accessible to all employees. Does the state block YouTube access, especially for messages critical of the governor's stance on controversial issues?

Finance Department spokeswoman Gina Smith said the answer is no. But Smith said the state does use a powerful Web content filter, Blue Coat, that blocks access to sites with key words such as gambling and pornography.

Smith added a complete ban on YouTube sites is not realistic. Even the federal government uses YouTube to communicate with states about federal stimulus funds through recovery.com, she said. In addition, some state departments access employee training materials through official sites that employ YouTube to deliver the information.

Smith said employees recently received reminders that this is an election year and the state has a policy about mixing politics into the state-paid workday. "I know you are not supposed to talk about politics on the job or send political messages using state government equipment," she said.

For the official who wondered about the YouTube access and who makes decisions about what is allowed, Smith said individual departments sometimes have policies that block sites. Others have policies that allow access to certain sites only part of the time. Finance's information technology experts make adjustments in the system for such allowances. Meanwhile, back at the building with the YouTube block, other offices on the same floor had the same message pop up. Employees at offices on another floor in the same building accessed YouTube sites without a problem.