CHINA is looking to strengthen regulation of the booming e-book reader industry, including setting up an entry threshold, a national format and a national e-book resource platform, the General Administration of Press and Publication said yesterday.

E-books help people to read online through portable devices, which can store thousands of books, such as Amazon's Kindle and Apple's iPad.

Compared with better-designed overseas products, such as Kindle and iPad, domestic e-book reader vendors lack core technology and design and e-book content, though their volume is huge.

Firms are expected to require approval from regulators to enter the industry and the e-book format should be unified within a national standard, according to the administration's statement.

Dozens of companies are selling e-book readers in China, making the market more competitive, and therefore most of them are losing money, analysts said.

At present, Hanwang Technology has the leading market position in China, the world's No. 2 e-book reader market behind the United States.

The national regulation and related standards will ensure that the market develops in a fair and healthy manner, Liu Yinjian, Hanwang's chairman, said in an earlier interview. Hanwang is involved in the drafting of the national e-book standard, according to Liu.

In 2009, e-book device sales hit 3.82 million units on China's mainland and the figure is expected to reach 9.1 million units, accounting 20 percent of the global number, the administration revealed.

Shanghai has set up China's first e-book industry alliance with 56 member firms, including Hanwang, Shanda and Founder. The national e-book standard drafting work will also be finished in the city, said Li Xinli, vice director of the Shanghai Press and Publication Bureau.