BBC
The protests widened after Friday prayers
Egyptian police have clashed with thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo for a fourth consecutive day.
Protesters gathered after Friday prayers. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds, who responded by throwing stones.
People also took to the streets in the coastal cities of Suez and Alexandria.
The government has warned of "decisive measures". There has been disruption to internet and mobile phone services.
The French government said it had received reports that four French journalists covering the protests in Cairo had been arrested.
There were also reports of clashes between protesters and police in Alexandria, Suez, Mansoura and Aswan, as well as Minya and Assiut south of Cairo, and al-Arish in the Sinai peninsula.
In anticipation of the unrest, riot police were deployed around the capital, at the entrances to bridges across the River Nile, at Tahrir Square - the scene of protests earlier this week - and other key intersections.
Friday's rallies in Egypt were expected to be the biggest so far, with people urged via internet sites to join after attending prayers.
The organisers called on people to come out in force, stressing that the religion of protesters was not relevant.
However, most internet and mobile-phone data connections appeared to be cut off from early on Friday. Service providers gave no reasons for the disruption.
On its website, the Muslim Brotherhood accused the government of engineering the disruption "to prevent the voices of the Egyptian people from reaching the world".
But Egyptian film-maker Ahmed Rasheed, who was planning to take part in Friday's demonstrations, said people no longer feared arrest.
"We have broken this fear barrier," he told the BBC. "People are taking to the streets, young people, all walks of life, educated, non-educated, higher social classes, lower social classes."
A lawyer for the Muslim Brotherhood meanwhile told the BBC that tens of its members had been arrested.
Despite an official ban, the Muslim Brotherhood remains Egypt's largest and most organised opposition movement.
Mr Mubarak, 82, has been in office since 1981.
The Egyptian government tolerates little dissent and opposition demonstrations are routinely outlawed.
On Thursday, Mr Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP) said it was ready for dialogue but did not offer any concessions.
Safwat al-Sherif, the party's secretary-general, said: "The NDP is ready for a dialogue with the public, youth and legal parties. But democracy has its rules and process. The minority does not force its will on the majority."
The US government, which counts Egypt as one of its most important allies in the Arab world, has so far been cautious in expressing support for either side.
President Barack Obama described the protests as the result of "pent-up frustrations", saying he had frequently pressed Mr Mubarak to enact reforms. He urged both sides not to resort to violence.
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