China's securities regulator has ordered the country's major financial websites to clean up misleading and illegal securities information.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said on Friday that all false advertisements and incorrect information should be deleted. Illegal websites operating under the name of securities companies should be shut down.

The regulator said the crackdown would be the priority of its work this year.

Illegal securities information is widespread on China's financial portals. Unreliable institutions and individuals, pretending to be well-informed analysts, profit from persuading investors to buy particular shares which are touted as being valuable.

Besides portals, incorrect securities information has been disclosed on blogs, chat rooms and bulletin board systems.

Falsities impair investors' interests and disorder the securities market, said the CSRC.

Websites that do not follow the rules will be closed by force, according to the regulator.

Names of legal websites will be made pubic.

Since the campaign against illegal online securities trading started in 1997, the CSRC had investigated 37 such cases.

The CSRC set up a specific office last May to oversee illegal online sites. It has also stepped up education for investors to keep them sway from those that would defraud them.

(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2009)