BEIJING - Authorities have shut down 55 websites engaging in illegal online publicity based on information provided by the public.

These websites recruited "Internet mercenaries" to engage in improper competition against rivals, such as fabricating or distorting facts that can lead to blackmail or seeking to reap profits by sensationalizing issues via the Internet, according to officials.

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The public reported the illegal publicity to the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center, said an official of the Internet News Coordination Bureau of the State Internet Information Office on Tuesday.

Those shut down included so-called "advocacy" websites that engaged in blackmail by publishing negative information, websites claiming they could delete unwanted online posts, and websites promoting repetitive online voting for favored companies, the unnamed official said.

The majority of the 55 websites were not registered, the official added.

"Illegal online publicity uses improper means to beat business rivals, distorts facts, engages in media hype to create fake Internet opinion and involves underground deals to seek illegal profits," the official said.

The activity has seriously undermined the online environment, market economy, public interest, and has aroused strong public dissatisfaction, the official said.

The State Internet Information Office, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security and State Administration for Industry and Commerce launched a two-month campaign in the middle of April to crack down on illegal publicity activities on the Internet.

The four departments have established hotlines and websites, encouraging whistleblowers to offer information regarding illegal online publicity.

The Internet has a far-reaching impact in China, as the number of Internet users in the country reached 477 million at the end of March, and the number of officially registered websites climbed to 3.82 million, statistics show.

Illegal Internet publicity has been used by previously thought to be responsible individuals. A product brand manager for Mengniu, a major dairy product company, was arrested in October after enlisting the help of a public relations firm in organizing an online slander campaign against the rival firm Yili.

Last month, 140 major websites, including sina.com, qq.com, baidu.com, and youku.com signed a self-discipline pact vowing to never organize or take part in any form of illegal publicity on the Internet.