China is tightening controls on its booming online game industry, requiring distributors to closely monitor game contents after some were found that included forbidden religious or political material.

Distributors must obtain approval to release new games and submit monthly monitoring reports confirming that operators haven't added forbidden content.

China has 23 million online game players, up from 13.8 million in 2003.Revenues this year are expected to reach 7 billion yuan ($850 million).The latest crackdown was prompted by a rash of problems with imported online games, some of which contain sensitive religious material or refer to territorial disputes.

Regulators said distributors concealed the content of the games when applying for approval, and operators sometimes upgraded games with improper content.

Source:佚名