Pirated disks and illicit publications are destroyed in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi province, yesterday.

As American companies increasingly sue Chinese counterparts for copyright infringements, Hollywood producers are joining forces with Chinese websites to tighten online protection.

The seven most popular Chinese websites - where millions of films and television programs are being uploaded, watched or downloaded every day - signed an agreement with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) concerning copyright protection of American films on Friday.

Under the agreement the websites promised to remove any programs illegally uploaded by users upon being notified by MPA and its member companies. They include tudou.com, youku.com, pomoho.com, 56.com, 6.cn, ku6.com and ouou.com.

By signing the agreement, they want to cooperate with the MPAA and Hollywood producers so that they can profit from the online screening of films, Cai Guangliang, lawyer for tudou.com, explained.

Cooperation is also on the agenda of the US side.

"While legislation is clearly an important component of what we do, the need to build cooperative relationships with the industry is an equally key component of our work in the digital age," said Mike Ellis, president for the Asia Pacific Region of the MPAA.

Currently China has 230 million Internet users, 20 million more than at the end of last year, and 76.9 percent of them have watched films or television programs online, Gao Lulin, vice-chairman of the Internet Society of China, told China Daily.