China will step up its efforts to remove pornographic and other harmful information from the internet by bolstering management of the Internet Service Provider (ISP) market, said a senior IT official.

Chen Jiachun, vice director of the Telecommunications Bureau under the Ministry of Information Industry, said Monday that virtual host and trustee host servers will be the key areas for closer monitoring.

He said local telecommunications administrative departments have been urged to identify Internet servers that do not have appropriate business licenses.

Administrative departments are also being urged to step up monitoring of licensed ISPs. Those who ignore regulations will be asked to suspend activities until their situation is rectified or even have their license revoked.

Chen said that telecommunications operators are responsible for strictly scrutinizing ISPs operating on their platforms. They should understand their business and register accurate information about them before admitting them.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security said at a press conference last week that nearly 80 percent of juvenile delinquents have been lured into crime by "evil content" on the Internet.

China has roughly 123 million Internet users, most of whom are young people.

Editor: Wing