The Council of Europe on Wednesday said it had called on the Dutch government to distance itself from an anti-foreigner Internet site sponsored by the extreme right.

The far-right PVV party, which is not part of the government but which backs it in parliament, launched the site earlier this month in a bid to encourage people to write in about problems encountered with people from eastern Europe -- a term often used to designate the Roma community.

In a letter to Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland urged the Dutch government to distance itself from the website sponsored by Geert Wilders, leader of the PVV.

"The website is widely regarded as xenophobic because it solicits and disseminates negative reports about citizens of central and eastern European countries working in the Netherlands," according to the Council which promotes human rights among its 47 European member state countries.

"I am concerned because (the Internet site) is hosted by a political party which is linked to the governing coalition," Jagland wrote.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has declined to comment about the site, saying it is a party rather than a government matter.