Local operators have been encouraged to adopt "cn", China's national domain for domestic Websites, and so far the number of Chinese Websites using "cn" has exceeded 300,000, a spokesman for the Internet Bureau of the State Council Press Office said in Beijing Wednesday.

Over 80 percent of central and local news Websites have adopted the domain. Websites using "cn" are increasing by 10,000 every month, the official told a press conference on the opening of www.youth.cn, the China Youth Computer Information Network.

Domestic Websites are safer using "cn", because it can be technically maintained within the country by the China Internet Information Center, the official administrator of the mushrooming Websites opened by Chinese operators.

"Dot com" resources have become scarce, as it is one of the most popular domains in the world, according to Mao Wei, director of the center. There is still great potential for more "dot cns", he noted.

(Xinhua News Agency December 10, 2003)