China destroyed nearly 13 million pirated CDs, DVDs and computer software discs on Saturday as part of a 100-day crackdown on piracy.

Regulators have also closed thousands of shops and revoked the business licenses of 368 audiovisual products suppliers since the nationwide effort began in mid-July.

The campaign is a joint program by 10 ministries and state departments, including the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration of Press and Publication, the National Copyright Administration and the Ministry of Culture.

Officials said the crackdown is unprecedented in terms of duration and the number of government departments involved.

The illegal products destroyed over the weekend had been confiscated from across the nation. Six million discs came from Guangdong Province, 1.88 million from Sichuan Province, 1 million from Beijing, 750,000 from Fujian Province, 600,000 from Liaoning Province, 500,000 from Jiangsu Province, 300,000 from Shandong Province and 230,000 from Henan Province.

Police and copyright officials raided more than 537,000 markets, shops, street vendors and distribution companies and closed down 8,907 shops and street vendors, 481 publishing companies and 942 illegal Websites in the two months since the campaign began.

Ninety-nine of the licenses revoked belonged to companies based in northeast China's Jilin Province, and 74 were from central China's Henan Province, the National Anti-Pornography and Anti-Piracy Office said yesterday.

Even in less-developed Qinghai Province, nine business licenses were withdrawn, the office said.

Police in Guangdong uncovered four major illegal CD and DVD production lines since the beginning of this month. Ten illegal production lines have been busted nationwide this year, authorities said.

Editor: Yan