China publishes "blacklist" of video Web sites

In China, an administrative punishment typically starts with a verbal warning, followed by a written warning, and eventually suspension of operations.

China's government, keen to avoid stoking social discontent, keeps a tight watch over the media and often blocks or censors popular Web sites and forums where dissent may brew.

This latest sweep of the Internet by Beijing echoes its previous campaign to force Web sites to apply for Internet content licenses, and may be a prelude to putting in place a system for standardizing video content, industry watchers said.

Some add they also expect a "whitelist" of officially sanctioned Web sites to come out, which foreign investors may see as safer investment targets.

"We are certainly very concerned about this matter and are keeping a close eye on developments," said one executive at a prominent foreign venture capital firm who asked not to be identified.

China, which had 210 million Web users at the end of last year, has since overtaken the United States as the world's biggest Internet market by number of users, according to Beijing-based research firm BDA.

(Editing by David Cowell)