In a move that no doubt makes George Bush salivate, Reuters reported that Xinhua, the official news agency of China announced that "The state bans the spreading of any news with content that is against national security and public interest." Effective immediately.

The news agency did not detail the rules, but said Internet news sites must "be directed toward serving the people and socialism (substitute “freedom” or “democracy” or “liberty”) and insist on correct guidance of public opinion for maintaining national and public interests."

Established news media needed permission to run a news Web site, it said. New operators had to register themselves with government information offices.

China has a dedicated band of cyber police who patrol the Internet with the aim of regulating content. Postings that criticize the government or address sensitive topics are quickly removed.

Registration was a feature of rules imposed earlier this year aimed at not-for-profit Internet activities, such as personal Web sites and blogs. Access to many foreign news Web sites is routinely blocked.