China closes 1,600 Net cafes

China closed 1,600 Internet cafes between February and August and imposed more than US$12 million in fines for allowing minors to play violent or adult games and other violations, state media reported. Of more than 1.8 million cafes inspected nationwide another 18,000 were ordered to close temporarily for what officials described as rectification. Porn, gambling, violence and other issues have been blamed by the government for undermining what it calls the healthy development of the Internet in China. China has some 87 million Internet users, over 50% of whom are under 24 and approximately 18% are minors.