In their latest effort to cleanse the Internet environment, Chinese authorities have shut down 225 microblog accounts and punished the owners of 154 websites for spreading lewd content.

Several among these sites were set up without official approval and have already been closed. Others, which do hold a license, were ordered to erase all obscene content, according to a statement released Monday by the State Internet Information Office.

Most of the microblogs that were deleted were on weibo.com and t.qq.com, two major Twitter-like services in the country.

"The office has urged various local governments to fulfil their duty in strengthening the supervision on websites and, especially, microblog services that are registered in their region," said the statement.

According to the office, the move is a result of investigations based on tips from public whistleblowers, and further efforts will be made to crack down on the spread of pornography through the Internet and mobile phones.

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