CHINA will expand real-name registration for microblog users, the government’s information arm said yesterday, in its latest step toward curbing rumors on weibo, the wildly popular Twitter-like Web sites that have become an outlet for timely information.

    Officials acknowledge that microblogs are useful, but have accused them of spreading unfounded rumors and vulgarities.

    The Beijing Municipal Government first introduced the real-name registration rule in December. The government said it would give users three months to register with their real names or face legal consequences. Other major cities followed suit.

    “Currently, this type of registration is being tested in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and we will extend it to other areas once the pilot programs prove successful,” Wang Chen, minister in charge of the State Council Information Office (SCIO), told reporters in Beijing.

    A unit of the SCIO, the State Internet Information Office, is the main agency responsible for regulating the Internet.

    Wang said name verification will be standard for new users of microblogs, such as Sina’s Weibo, which allows users to issue short messages of a maximum of 140 Chinese characters that can course through chains of followers who receive messages instantly.

    Existing users will be required to register later, he said.

    “Microblogs on one hand can reflect the social situation and public opinion, and broadcast a positive public voice,” Wang said.

    “At the same time, microblogs ... can make it easy to disseminate a few irrational voices, negative public opinion and harmful information,” he said, noting that they possess “strong capabilities for social mobilization.”

    China has more than 300 million registered microbloggers, although many people have more than one account.

    (SD-Agencies)