Offensive nicknames pulled from the Internet

Companies asked to verify true identities of netizens and to clean up online accounts

Nicknames in cyberspace such as "Obama" and "Putin" are no longer available for netizens in China as the country vows to crack down on inappropriate and unlawful screen names, an industry regulator said on Wednesday.

Accounts pretending to be government organizations, celebrities and officials are also banned, the Cyberspace Administration of China said, as are nicknames that appear to advertise cults or pornography, or that damage State security.