An Internet system to fight on-line piracy is being prepared by China's copyright authorities, said an official on Thursday.

The system would allow for identification of pirated software, films, music and other works which had copyright, said Yan Xiaohong, deputy chief of the National Copyright Administration. "Piracy is still a serious problem in China," he said.

China is the world's second-largest Internet market after the United States with more than 123 million Internet users and 788,400 websites.

The government has issued the Protection of the Right of Communication Through the Network, effective from July 1, which bans the up and downloading of Internet material without the copyright holder's permission.

Yan said the government was also working on the ratification of two international treaties on Internet use with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

However, he observed that China still lagged behind in copyright protection at an international level although piracy remained a problem even in countries with the highest standards of protection.

(Xinhua News Agency August 4, 2006)