In order to motivate college students to use the Internet, Xinnet.com recently gave 10000 "bj.cn" domain names to Chinese students, free of charge. But this altruistic move appears to have landed the company in trouble.

According to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), individuals are not allowed to register sub-level .cn domain names. And so it seems that these domain names are about to be deleted.

Local media report that students are confused about CNNIC's policies. Many thought that individuals could register domain names online.

Xinnet.com operates in China and offers domain name registration services and virtual hosting plans. Besides having the domain names deleted, no other penalties appear to have been levied against the company by CNNIC.