Shandong Province has been tightening control over Internet cafes, with more than 3,000 illegal operations being closed in 2003 after an official inspection of all Internet cafes last year.

The result of this continuing action has been a decrease in the number of Shandong's Internet cafes from over 10,000 in 2002 to 7,000. Shandong had previously standardized Internet cafe management in terms of scale, location, operation hours and surveillance software. The province will continue its strict supervision of Internet cafes this year, an official said, while at the same time promoting the development of chain Internet cafes.