People found to have violated regulations will be severely punished, China Daily said.

Businesses allowing children to surf the internet will face punishments ranging from a two-week suspension to a revocation of their business license.

Currently, Internet cafes in China are supposed to register the identity of users and only allow adults to enter.

In 2004, the government launched a nationwide campaign to inspect Internet cafes, which led to 50,000 businesses being closed down for operating without a license.

However, illegal cafes doing business in suburbs, small towns and the countryside remain a problem, the report said.

There are about four million Internet surfers in Beijing, or one in every three residents.

According to official figures, there are now about 670,000 websites on the Chinese mainland, which has more than 110 million internet users.

As part of China's increasing efforts to control cyberspace, authorities are using sophisticated filtering technology and forcing Internet service providers to reveal user information.

They also ban many portals to eliminate "harmful" content including pornography, violence and politically sensitive material from their websites.

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