China tells ‘dating’ websites not to sell sex

BEIJING: A Chinese internet watchdog has accused 12 dating websites in Beijing of being a cover for prostitution and has ordered them to clean up their act, state media said on Sunday.

“The outrageous pimping content in some websites is very shocking,” the Beijing Online News and Information Panel said in a statement, according to Xinhua news agency. One of the websites, ostensibly a lonely-hearts dating service, contained a posting supposedly from a young woman describing herself as a “professional pleasure giver,” Xinhua said.

The 12 sites are loaded with similar information, including “service items, pricing and contact information,” Xinhua quoted the statement as saying. The online panel, which has representatives from government, academia and the public, has ordered a complete purge of such information from the sites by June 1.China’s government, while happy about the internet’s potential as a spur to growth, is wary of online pornography and has sought to crack down in widely publicised campaigns.