Following a fire that killed at least 24
and injured 13 others in one of Beijing's internet
parlours, the mayor of Beijing has ordered the immediate
closure of all cyber cafes in the Chinese capital.

Mayor Liu Qi also suspended new licences
that are still waiting for safety inspections. An official
hi-tech police – nicknamed “the great firewall of
China” – keeps watch over the internet 24 hours a day.
A few weeks ago, a senior figure in China's Communist
government expressed concern about the amount of time young
people are spending surfing the internet and called for
tighter regulation of cyber cafes.

Tens of thousands of internet cafes have
sprung up in China in recent years, with many people –
especially the young – seizing the chance to explore life
in other countries through the internet. Journalists say
China's tight controls on the internet have driven many
operators underground.