Facing a ban from mainstream online social networks Facebook and Twitter, supporters of the Islamic State appear to have launched their own "caliphate book."

But 5elafabook.com was offline on Monday just a day after its launch and its Twitter account was suspended, highlighting the challenges faced by backers of the ultra-violent militants based in Iraq and Syria in spreading their message and recruiting online.

The amateur page showed a map of the world dotted with Islamic State's trademark Arabic insignia and was crafted by Socialkit, a program that lets users produce do-it-yourself social networks.