A judge who asked the meaning of a “website” has insisted that he is entirely “computer-literate” and that he was seeking an explanation “in the interests of justice”.

Mr Justice Openshaw, who is in the fifth week of presiding over the trial of three alleged “cyber-terrorists”, issued a swift response to reports yesterday, maintaining that his comment had been taken out of context. A statement said that trial judges “frequently ask questions on behalf of those following a case, in the interests of justice”.

Mr Justice Openshaw had astonished prosecutors at Woolwich Crown Court when he said: “The trouble is I don’t understand the language. I don’t really understand what a website is.”

Yesterday the Judicial Communications Office said that the judge was “entirely computer-literate”, adding that he “indeed has taken notes on his own computer in court for many years”. The statement said that the judge was presiding over a trial largely based on computer-generated evidence. “Evidence is being provided by expert witnesses that will inevitably be of a specialist nature,” it said.

“Trial judges seek to ensure that everyone in court is able to follow all of the proceedings.

“They will regularly ask questions – not for their own benefit – but on behalf of all those following a case, in the interests of justice.” The statement pointed out that before the judge’s comments prosecuting counsel had referred to various internet forums, and postings.

A spokesman for the Judicial Communications Office added: “The judge knew perfectly well what a website was. He was in a sense playing Devil’s advocate, asking the questions that a member of the jury might want to ask.”

After the judge’s comments the court was treated on Thursday to a PowerPoint demonstration by the computer expert giving evidence, Peter Sams. He explained that the internet was a “complex communication system” and “you need to log into the system through a telephone cable or perhaps a television cable”. The professor then explained the terms “dial-up” and “broadband”.

In the trial the defendants – Younis Tsouli, 23, Waseem Mughal, 24, and Tariq al-Daour, 21, who deny the charges – are accused of helping to distribute Islamic propaganda over the internet in support of al-Qaeda. Mr Tsouli, of West London, is said to have had links to an al-Qaeda group in Iraq. The trial continues.

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