Over 200 million items of "harmful" online information were removed last year as part of Chinese crackdown on pornography and illegal publications, officials were quoted as saying by the official media here today.

Some 4,000 pornographic messages and 150 pornographic publications, call phone novels and internet games were also targeted, the National Office for Cleaning up Pornography and Fighting Illegal Publications said.

The authorities also confiscated about 149 million pornographic, pirated and unauthorised publications, Xinhua news agency said, quoting officials.

They included 3.72 million pornographic publications, 3.2 million illegal newspapers and magazines, 3.36 million smuggled discs and 136 million pirated publications.

In a major crackdown on internet pornography last year, Chinese authorities had shut 44,000 domestic websites and homepages and arrested 868 persons, a campaign that would continue up to September until the end of the Olympics.

Another 1,911 people linked to 1,609 internet pornography activities were penalised and 440,000 pornographic messages online deleted.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ET_Cetera/China_crackdown_on_pornography_/articleshow/2766462.cm
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