ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
Well, commentator and comedian Maz Jobrani has been giving Iran's internet plans some thought and he says it's a golden opportunity.
MAZ JOBRANI, COMEDIAN: Mr. Ahmadinejad, your first move for your Iranian-only Internet is to buy Facebook. You like bargains, right? Well, even with those nasty sanctions in place, what a deal. Facebook's plummeting IPO price makes it attractive. You can rename it Farsibook, if you like. Second, you need an Iranian Twitter. One problem, with names like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Grand Ayatollah Syyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, 140 characters ain't gonna work.
Next, you need a thing with maps. Of course, there will be certain locales like nuclear facilities - I mean, peaceful electrical plants - that you want to hide from view, especially Israeli eyes. So it will have limitations. Then, there's a need for an Iranian online dating service. It would involve one man, one woman, the woman's father, mother, uncles, aunts - match my family with your family.com. Straights only need apply.
Books? Ramazon.com. Travel site? How about goodluckgettingavisa.com. You see, when you cut off the rest of the world's Internet, the opportunities to prosper are endless.
SIEGEL: Maz Jobrani, Iranian-American and founder of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.