China will intensify monitoring of Internet in the country by ending anonymous online comments and "harmful information" on the web, a top official has said.

Wang Chen, director of the State Council Information Office, underlined that China will push to end anonymous online comments in a bid to step up monitoring of cyberspace, China Daily reported today.

The news regulator said on Friday that China would strengthen its monitoring on "harmful information" on the Internet, in an attempt to block overseas information from spreading into the country via the Internet.

It was aimed at preventing "overseas hostile forces from infiltrating through the Internet," he was quoted as saying by the People's Daily.

Last week, Wang said major news websites and business portals in China have already complied with the no-anonymity comment rule. He said the trend will be pushed through the Internet, including the populous online bulletin boards.

China would also intensify its crackdown on online crimes, which netted 5,510 suspects last year, according to Wang.

"Tough measures would be employed to tackle online pornography, gambling and fraud as the country has over 400 million Internet users," he said.