10 Internet users hired as self-regulation officers by NetEase on Tuesday have applied to be volunteers at the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games. NetEase is the third major Chinese website after Sina and Sohu to join a major new self-regulation program.

A spokesman for NetEase said the 10 self-regulation officers are completely independent from the company's editorial and administrative departments. Their sole responsibility is to monitor unlawful information and unhealthy tendencies inside the company and make suggestions for improvement to the company management through regular meetings, daily bulletins and monthly reports. NetEase management will evaluate their suggestions and may reward officers who make feasible proposals.

Self-regulation officer Zhang Yucheng likened his work as "a window screen which keeps fresh air flowing while filtering unhealthy information."

Chen Hua, a member of the Beijing Online News Information Council, said the self-regulation officers act as additional pairs of eyes for the Internet industry. He added that volunteering for the Asian Games will be a great honor for them.

The Beijing Association of Online Media proposed that the first batch of self-regulation officers start work on a trial basis in NetEase, Sina, Sohu and five other websites which have MicroBlog services. The officers are expected to monitor online behavior that is harmful to national security and social stability, violates laws and social norms, offends the public, or disseminates pornography.

Other countries including the U.S., France, Germany, the UK, Japan and Singapore have also established self-regulation systems for Internet services.

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