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China to tighten supervision over blogs

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-06-30 08:43

Blogs and search engines, the most active parts of China information industry, will undergo strict supervision of the government.

"As more and more illegal and unhealthy information spreads through the blog and search engine, we will take effective measures to put the BBS,blog and search engine under control," said Cai Wu, director of the Information Office of the State Council, at a meeting held Wednesday.

China launched a project on February 21 to purify the environment of internet and mobile communication network through a series of measures within a year.

According to a report made by prestigious Qinghua (Tsinghua) University in Beijing, the Chinese blog sites have reached 36.82 million. The report also predicted that the blog sites may exceed 60 million this year.

"The market cannot develop without efficient management," said Cai, adding that the government will enhance research on the concerned technology and make admittance standards for blog websites.

Last year, Chinese search engine users reached 97.06 million, accounting for 87.4 percent of Chinese internet users, said iResearch Consultative Ltd. iResearch forecasts that the number will top 100 million this year.

The Chinese internet search engine service providers formed a self-discipline organization two years ago, refusing to support the pornographic and obscene websites.

"We will speed up the technology development to safeguard the network management and do more researches on the internet security issues triggered by the new technologies of blogs and search engines," Said Wang Xudong, Minister of Information Industry.

He also said China will pave the way for real-name registration of phone users and ask all websites to be officially registered.