He asked the ministry to crack down on the websites, and report their findings to him by December 15.

The head of the ministry’s Department of Broadcasting and Electronic Information, Luu Van Hai, said that the content of many sites licensed by his department differed from their registered aims in legal documents.

Tran Thuy Son, a 43-year-old-mother in Hanoi, said: “When by chance I read a popular youth website, which is licensed by the ministry, I became extremely concerned about the sexual content and suggestive images.” She found similar things on other sites. “I wonder what effect these websites have on our young people,” she said.

Meanwhile, 15-year-old Nguyen Dieu Thu, said she went to the same website every day for information and gossip about things she’s interested in.

Luu Van Hai said the websites that target young people were strictly managed and some of them have already been punished for breaking the law. If they continue, he added they will receive a tougher punishment.

Under government regulations, websites that publish false information will be shut down. If they contain a criminal element, they will be investigated and taken to court.

However, Nguyen Xuan Phuong, an IT worker at the Hai Long Computer Company, said that policing websites would prove very difficult, as individuals can easily set up a website with whatever content they want by buying a domain for around VND500,000 ($26) and building up the site with downloaded software.

VNS