China restricts online games contents for kids

BEIJING, CHINA: China has introduced a new law to restrict contents of online computer games to prevent children from developing imitation behavior and addiction to Internet surfing.

The new regulation, issued by the ministry of culture June 22, took effect from Sunday. It is the first regulation governing the booming market of online games which is expected to protect children from unwholesome content and Internet addiction, Xinhua reported.

The law states that online games targeting minors must be free of content that lead to imitation of behavior that violates social morals and the law.

It also requires companies to develop techniques that limit the game timings in order to prevent minors from addiction.

Now, the surfer will have to register using their real names before playing games online, according to the regulation.

China's online population reached 420 million by June 2010, according to data from the China Internet Network Information Center.

The market value of the online game industry in China increased by almost 40 percent to 25.8 billion yuan ($ 3.8 billion) in 2009.