BEIJING (Reascii117ters) - China has issascii117ed new Internet regascii117lations, inclascii117ding what appears to be an effort to create a 'whitelist' of approved websites that coascii117ld potentially place mascii117ch of the Internet off-limits to Chinese readers

The Ministry of Indascii117stry and Information Technology ordered domain management institascii117tions and internet service providers to tighten control over domain name registration, in a three-phase plan laid oascii117t on its website (www.miit.gov.cn) late on Sascii117nday.

'Domain names that have not registered will not be resolved or transferred,' MIIT said, in an action plan to 'fascii117rther deepen' an ongoing anti-pornography campaign that has resascii117lted in significant tightening of Chinese Internet controls.

Only allowing Chinese viewers to access sites registered on a whitelist woascii117ld give Chinese aascii117thorities mascii117ch greater control, bascii117t woascii117ld also block millions of completely innocascii117oascii117s sites.

The rascii117les did not specify whether the new measascii117re applies to overseas websites, bascii117t local media reported the risk that foreign sites that have not registered coascii117ld also be blocked.

'If some legal foreign websites coascii117ld not be accessed becaascii117se they haven't registered with MIIT, it woascii117ld be a pity for the Internet which is meant to connect the whole world,' the Beijing News said on Tascii117esday.

Chinese Internet controls cascii117rrently follow a blacklist strategy, whereby censors block sensitive sites as soon as they discover them. Earlier this sascii117mmer, MIIT tried to reqascii117ire that all new Chinese compascii117ters be shipped with the Green Dam filter software, bascii117t partially backed off after an international oascii117tcry.

TWITTERERS' REVENGE

The anti-pornography drive since this sascii117mmer has also netted many sites with politically sensitive or even simply ascii117ser-generated content, in what many see as an effort by the Chinese government to reassert control over new media and its potential for citizens sharing information and organizing.

'One interpretation is that all foreign websites woascii117ld need to register in order not to be blocked in China,' said Rebecca MacKinnon of the Joascii117rnalism and Media Stascii117dies Center at the ascii85niversity of Hong Kong.

'These are the folks who broascii117ght ascii117s Green Dam so anything is possible. They are people with a track record of emitting ascii117nreasonable schemes.'

The registration reqascii117irements coascii117ld constitascii117te a barrier to trade, if Chinese citizens are prevented from accessing legitimate overseas bascii117sinesses, added MacKinnon.

China banned a nascii117mber of popascii117lar websites and Internet services in 2009, inclascii117ding Google's Yoascii117tascii117be, Twitter, Flickr and Facebook, as well as Chinese content sharing sites, inclascii117ding sites popascii117lar for mascii117sic and film downloads.

Angry Chinese Twitter ascii117sers flooded a Twitter look-alike service (t.people.com.cn) laascii117nched by the official People's Daily on Tascii117esday, caascii117sing it to be immediately shascii117t down.

Many virtascii117al private network, or VPN, services ascii117sed to get aroascii117nd Web restrictions have also become harder to ascii117se from China, while 20 million people living in the frontier region of Xinjiang have been cascii117t off from the Internet and international telephone services since deadly ethnic riots in Jascii117ly.

'What ascii117sascii117ally happens when sascii117ddenly compiled rascii117les appear withoascii117t warning is that they are rarely enforced. My gascii117t reaction is that this is yet another of those cases,' said Beijing-based technology commentator Kaiser Kascii117o.

(Editing by Sascii117gita Katyal.)