China is to crack down on XXX Web sites. Officials say the "rampant" increase in online porn is damaging the moral fabric of the nation - and young people, in particular.

Xinhuanet quotes one state official who reckons porn "severely damaged social style, polluted the social environment, and harmed the physical and psychological health of the young people".

However, the report does not explain exactly how Beijing intends to stamp out adult sites, other than threatening to "severely punish" anyone who has "violated" the law.

China's bid to rid itself of porn is the latest in a long line of measures to restrict personal freedom. At the beginning of the July, for example, China extended its hard-line stand against human rights and personal freedom by introducing new rules to monitor and censor the use of text messages.

And last month, Chinese websites, ISPs and other Internet-related organisations were "invited" to sign a self-discipline pact to prevent the spread of anti-government information, porn and anything else that might threaten "national security (and) social stability". ®

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