A database of Chinese websites through which law enforcement agencies can track website registrations is expected to be completed in October.

Vice Minister of Information Industry Xi Guohua said on Monday the ministry had recorded the basic information of more than 1.6 million websites, including the registers' names, IP address, and domain names.

More than 2,000 new websites applied for registration each day and the biggest challenge was updating data and building a search engine that would access basic information as quickly as possible.

The database would also blacklist websites involved in illegal online activities, such as pornography and unlicensed online lotteries.

Website operators and Internet access providers would both be held responsible for online illegal activities, said Xi.

The Ministry of Information Industry suspended almost 3,000 websites for publishing "harmful" information in its 2006 annual inspection. This year the ministry has shut down 900 websites for distributing pornographic material.

Source: Xinhua