Hackers have broken into the official website of India's ruling Congress party and have defaced the profile page of party president Sonia Gandhi with a pornographic message.

The website was shut down after the attack.

The hacking coincided with Gandhi's 65th birthday and came just days after the Indian government had called on social media networks, including Facebook, Twitter and Google, to remove offensive material from their sites.

Internet users have slammed India for its requests of the social networks, accusing the government of censorship.