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UPDATE: Russia's Yandex Scraps Blog Ranking, Blames Radicals

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MOSCOW -(Dow Jones)- Russia's most popular search engine OAO Yandex is scrapping its ranking of the country's most popular blogs to avoid accusations of helping radicals.

As Russian Internet use has grown over the past year, government officials have begun to call for limits on foreign ownership of local Internet companies, which they describe as strategic.

Yandex's Web site has included the algorithmically generated ranking of blogs since 2007, but the company said that particular bloggers are manipulating the system so the list no longer reflects Internet users' interests.

"The service has become an instrument used to generate publicity for particular issues in the media...journalists got into the habit of looking at the ratings page...after a while the powers that be look at the rating as 'the voice of the people,'" an executive wrote on the company's corporate blog.

Some commentators have suggested that the Kremlin now intends to monitor criticism on Web sites more closely.

Privately owned Yandex was last year preparing an initial public offering in New York, but the company cancelled those plans that autumn, and the company in September agreed to give state-controlled OAO Sberbank (SBER.RS) special veto power over any acquisition of a stake of more than 25%.

Yandex handles more than half the Internet searches in Russia, with Google Inc. (GOOG) accounting for just under a quarter.

Russia's antitrust authorities last year prevented Google from acquiring Russian online advertising company ZAO Begun.

Yandex's corporate blog: http://clubs.ya.ru/company/replies.xml?item_no=20164& ncrnd=2490

-By Will Bland, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 937 8445; william.bland@ dowjones.com

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