China lifts ban on new cyber-cafés

The Chinese government has called off its ban on the creation of new internet cafés, according to local media reports.

The government agencies responsible for approving new licences also plan to introduce an easier process to help businesses set up more quickly.

Priority may be given to companies looking to develop internet café chains or franchises.

China called a halt to new licences in early 2007, following a request by 14 Chinese ministries.

However, the country still controls much of the content available online to the country's web surfers.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television recently announced a ban of video-sharing sites such as YouTube unless they are controlled by the state and display only licensed content.

The country also displays animated police characters on all websites stored on Beijing servers to remind users that their surfing habits are being monitored.

China routinely filters web traffic using its 'Great Firewall of China' and blocks data that contains banned words.

However, researchers claim that China's censorship system is not a true firewall because some of the banned information passes through several routers in the country before being blocked.