I filed this story for Wired News about a crackdown on electronic games by the Chinese government:
Responding to an unprecedented boom in computer game popularity, China's government established a censorship task force this week to monitor the content of imported games for offensive or politically sensitive content.
Ministry of Culture officials said all online and wireless games produced outside the country will now be subject to examination first before they can be legally distributed within the country. Foreign producers of online games already in distribution must submit those products to MOC examinations by Sept. 1, or face punishment.
"The ministry allows the import of foreign online games whose content accords with Chinese national conditions and has positive effects on young people's mentality," according to an MOC statement. Chinese officials had been monitoring the content of video games before, but they seem to be stepping up efforts after a period of exponential growth in computer and wireless gaming. Two European games were recently banned.
