Chinese police launch virtual Web patrols to scare surfers from illegal sites

BEIJING (AP) - Police in China's capital say they will start patrolling the Web using animated beat officers that pop up on a user's browser and walk, bike or drive across the screen warning them to stay away from illegal Internet content.
Starting September 1, the cartoon alerts will appear every half-hour on 13 of China's top portals and by the end of the year will appear on all websites registered with Beijing servers.

China stringently polices the Internet for material and content the governing Communist party finds politically or morally threatening.

Despite the controls, nudity, profanity, illegal gambling and pirated music, books and film have proliferated on Chinese Internet servers.

The animated police appear designed to startle Web surfers and remind them authorities closely monitor Web activity.

The male and female cartoon officers will offer a text warning to surfers to abide by the law and tips on Internet security as they move across the screen in a virtual car, motorcycle or on foot.

If Internet users need police help, they can click on the cartoon images and will be redirected to the Beijing Public Security Ministry's website.

China has the world's second-largest population of Internet users, with 137 million people online and is on track to surpass the United States as the largest online population in two years.

The government routinely blocks surfers from accessing overseas sites and closes down domestic websites deemed obscene or subversive.

The Canadian Press, 2007