More websites back online in Urumqi

URUMQI: Authorities in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region have restored partial access to 27 Internet sites, including the China Daily website, that had been blocked following last July's deadly riot in the regional capital of Urumqi.

"We chose the 27 websites because all of them are very practical and popular in China," Hou Hanmin, spokesperson of the regional government, told China Daily yesterday.

She said the regional government is preparing to restore access to more websites in the near future, but no fixed date has been set for the full restoration of Internet services in Xinjiang, because it will be "a step-by-step process".