A popular Tunisian children's magazine is to be prosecuted for telling its young readers how to make a petrol bomb, officials have said, according to The Guardian.

The latest edition of Qaws Quzah, which means rainbow in Arabic, featured an article about the history of petrol bombs, including instructions and a diagram, in its knowledge corner section.

"It is an improvised weapon that is often used in riots and acts of sabotage because it is easy to make and use," it read.

The magazine, read for decades in Tunisia by boys and girls aged five to 15, has no political orientation. But the article touched a raw nerve in a country still troubled by the unrest from last year's revolution.

The ministry for women and family affairs said on Tuesday the article "encourages violent and terrorist thought" as well as endangering lives by "encouraging the use of Molotov cocktails in acts of vandalism or terrorism".

The ministry said it would ask an investigating magistrate to open a case against the publishers and all those involved in the issue. While the specific charges will be for the judge to decide, the ministry's comments suggested they could include incitement to violence.

Tunisia's revolution led to the democratic election of a transitional government headed by the moderate Islamist Ennahda party, but violence persists among extreme religious groups, during which petrol bombs have been used.