China closes 320 Internet sites, columns

BEIJING, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- China's police has shut down more than 320 Web sites and Internet columns that were considered illegal, reports the official Xinhua news agency.

The news agency said authorities also deleted 15,000 items of "hazardous information from Internet" from Sept. 6-8.

A Public Security Ministry official said the closed Web sites included those that disseminate gambling information and sell guns, explosives and listening devices.

He warned that police would intensify efforts to "purify Internet atmosphere in future," Xinhua reported.