Two "virtual" police officers will start surfing the Net from Saturday to help combat pornography and other illicit activities.
They will first visit major news portals, including sohu.com and sina.com and then monitor all websites and online forums based in Beijing by the end of the year.
They will be on the watch for websites that incite secession, promote superstition, gambling and fraud, an officer surnamed Tian, from the Beijing municipal public security bureau, said.
"It is our duty to wipe out information that does public harm and disrupts social order," Zhao Hongzhi, deputy chief of the bureau's Internet surveillance center, said.
Images of the Beijing Internet Police, one man, one woman, were designed by sohu.com. They will appear, either on motorcycles, in a car or on foot, at the bottom of users' computer screens every 30 minutes to remind them of Internet security.
By clicking on the icons, users will be connected to the website of the bureau's Internet surveillance center where they can report illegal activities and harmful information to police, Zhao said.
"The virtual police officers will faithfully fulfill their duties, listen to the suggestions of netizens and protect them from harm," Zhao said.
The bureau has so far detected 128,000 Web pages with pornographic content and closed down 244 pornographic sites.
"We have achieved visible results in recent months but there is still a long way to go. The virtual cops will better communicate with netizens and improve our efficiency," Zhao said.
Gong Yu, chief operating officer of sohu.com applauded the new move by the police.
"Illegal activities have affected the healthy development of the Internet and especially harm youths. Most netizens are young people," he said.
"To strengthen the administration of cyberspace will help create a fair competitive environment for us. We welcome this action."
Dong Lin, chief technology officer of Xirang, a Beijing-based hosting service provider, said police have mobilized all forces, from China Netcom, the country's second largest fixed-line operator, to information security companies such as Symantec, to jointly combat online harmful information.
"The virtual world is more complex and challenging than the real one," he said.
Chinahas about 163 million Internet users. Beijing's netizens currently total about 5.4 million.
Virtual police officers first appeared in Shenzhen last year.
(China Daily 08/29/2007 page 5)
Questions:
1. Name two of the things virtual police officers will be looking for.
2. By clicking on the virtual police officer icons, what can Internet users do?
3. How many Internet users are there in China?
Answers:
1. They will watch for websites that incite secession, promote superstition, gambling and fraud.
2. They can report illegal activities and harmful information to police.
3. 163 million.
（英语点津 Linda 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Bernice Chan is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Bernice has written for newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong and most recently worked as a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, producing current affairs shows and documentaries.
