Shenzhen's Internet patrol program will be expanded to eight more cities nationwide next month, the Ministry of Public Security said at a national conference on the Internet administration over the weekend.

Shenzhen's public security bureau said since the program became operational in January, the amount of harmful and hazardous information at the city's major portal Web sites has reduced by 60 percent.

The program comes after numerous attempts this year to tighten control over online content, including a pledge of self-censorship by 43 Beijing Web sites.

The meeting, which ended in Beijing on Saturday, was told the cities covered by the system would be Chongqing, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Qingdao, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu.

On Shenzhen Web sites, "Jingjing" and "Chacha" — two cartoon images representing police officers on patrol — are pasted beside chat room entrances. Police say the images work both as a warning not to violate the law and as a way for Internet users to report crime.

By clicking the icons of "Jingjing" and "Chacha," netizens can also find information on rules and regulations of cyber space management and typical online crimes.

(Shenzhen Daily May 16, 2006)