(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-29 20:34

A policeman and a policewoman would be on duty around the clock on Beijing's gateway websites starting from Saturday, accepting complaints mainly about the cyber world.

A computer-generated image released August 28, 2007 by the Beijing Public Security Bureau shows the cartoon figures of "virtual police". [Reuters]

A Beijing netizen need only click the two cartoon police if he or she wants to report malicious information or pornographic websites. Then the netizen shall fill in a form to end the whole reporting processing, Beijing police said Tuesday at a press conference.

Police would offer a feedback in 30 minutes after they received valid calls, said Zhao Hongzhi, deputy director of the Internet department of the Beijing police bureau.

The cartoon policeman and policewoman would pop up on web pages every 30 minutes. They would patrol Beijing's gateway websites as of September 1 and all websites and forums in Beijing since December.

Police would only take action on disputes on virtual assets and Internet accounts, which are common in China at present, if the accused people had breached the law, and also handle calls of emergencies in real world.

Police shall safeguard the virtual world as it has a growing impact on the real world, Zhao said.

Beijing police have closed 224 pornographic websites so far this year and deleted nearly 130,000 pieces of malicious information on the Internet.

In 1987, China recorded its first e-mail, signaling its entry into the Internet era. The number of Internet users in China hit an estimated 162 million by the end of June, with nearly 100 people a minute going online, according to the China Internet Network Information Centre.

Beijing has 5.46 million Internet users while more than 300,000 Chinese websites are registered in the capital city.