Virtual Chinese Police Trolling for Porn

China is sending out two virtual police officers to patrol the Internet to combat online pornography and other "illicit activity", state media said on Wednesday.

The virtual officers, a man and a woman, "will appear either on motorcycles, in a car or on foot, at the bottom of users' computer screens every 30 minutes to remind them of Internet security," the China Daily said.

The two will monitor major news portals and all Web sites and online forums based in Beijing from this Saturday.

"They will be on the watch for Web sites that incite secession, promote superstition, gambling and fraud," an official with the Beijing municipal public security bureau was quoted as saying.

The newspaper did not explain how the two officers would monitor sites or enforce laws, but said users could click on the pop-up icons to link to an Internet surveillance centre where infractions could be reported.