Wikipedia has formally banned the Church of Scientology from accessing and editing its own pages.

A committee of 11 arbiters voted on Thursday to block all IP addresses connected to the church, and ban multiple accounts believed to be used by church members as well as critics of the religion.

"Each side wishes the articles within this topic to reflect their point of view and have resorted to battlefield editing tactics, with edits being abruptly reverted without any attempt to incorporate what is good, to maintain their preferred status quo," the committee said in its decision.

The encyclopaedia site will also allow administrators to exercise tighter control over activity on entries involving Scientology.

The decision comes after yet another row over the editing and administration of pages connected to the Church of Scientology and its members. Wikipedia said that this was the fourth time in as many years that an arbitration committee has had to preside over a case involving Scientology.

Among the accusations are that church members and critics were repeatedly altering pages with misleading or poorly sourced information. Users were also believed to be manipulating the site by signing up multiple accounts which were then used solely to edit articles relating to Scientology.

The Wikipedia episode is the latest in what has been an ongoing internet feud between the Church of Scientology and critics who claim that the group is a dangerous cult.

The most notable online feud erupted between the church and a group of activists known as Anonymous who have held real-world protests against the church as well as web-based activities.

The church has also found itself at odds with Google and YouTube over the posting and removal of anti-Scientology sites and videos.