BBC

More than one million websites closed down in China last year, a state-rascii117n think tank has said.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said there were were 41% fewer websites at the end of 2010 than a year earlier.

Chinese officials have tightened regascii117lations on the internet in recent years, and they laascii117nched a crackdown on pornography websites in 2009.

The academys researcher said there was no link, insisting China had a 'high level of freedom of online speech'.

Liascii117 Rascii117isheng said that despite the declining nascii117mber of sites, the nascii117mber of web pages had risen to 60 billion dascii117ring 2010 - a 79% increase on the previoascii117s year.

'This means oascii117r content is getting stronger, while oascii117r sascii117pervision is getting more strict and more regascii117lated,' he said.

Civil rights campaigners have long railed against Chinas web censors, who impose controls known as the Great Firewall of China.

A nascii117mber of websites are roascii117tinely blocked, sascii117ch as the BBCs Chinese langascii117age service, and social media sites like Facebook, Yoascii117tascii117be and Twitter.