Police in China have arrested 600 people and seized CNY23m (£1.5m) as part of a countrywide crackdown on illegal online gambling.

In all, some 220 people were detained in a series of raids on what state media sources are claiming to be a "clandestine internet-based gambling company".

Three guns were also seized in the raids.

China has made no secret of its dislike of the Internet and the impact the web has had on this closed society. A recent article in a Communist Party magazine penned by a senior official warned that the domination of the English language and Western ideas online are a threat to China's cultural identity.

"The use of the Internet for cultural aggression is extremely dangerous, threatening to a people's culture, independence and freedom, even going so far to possibly unsettle a people's or a country's foundations," it said.

Officials aren't keen on online gambling or smut either. ®

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