Eleven people accused of running China's biggest pornographic Web site went on trial Wednesday in the midst of a nationwide crackdown on online smut.

The Hefei Intermediate People's Court in Anhui Province tried the group, including 10 men and one woman.

The ringleader, Wang Yong, 19, suspected of building the Web site server in the United States, would be tried by a separate court.

The Web site was launched in 2002 by Wang, and had more than 300,000 registered users who had access to 6,000 porn videos, 100,000 porn pictures, 20,000 porn stories and detailed information about prostitution businesses around China, police said.

Most of the registered users were teenagers. The Web site had more than 400 million hits from its launch until it was closed down in November 2004, police said.

Others are charged with helping Wang Yong run the toll Website, attract netizens and making money by charging registration fees.

The Beijing Youth Daily said most of the suspects were so-called social elites including teachers, public servants, and employees of famous enterprises.

"Most of the suspects ran the porn Web site to fill spiritual emptiness, rather than for money," said Liu Shengzhi, a police officer in Hefei City.

(Shenzhen Daily May 12, 2005)