02-27-01 06:54 EST

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Ministry of Public Security has released new software designed to keep "cults, sex and violence'' off the Internet in China, a police official said.

"The software, Internet Police 110, was released yesterday. It will prevent users from getting unhealthy information from foreign and domestic Web sites,'' he told Reuters.

"It was designed to block information of cults, sex and violence on the Internet,'' he said, without making clear whether installation was mandatory.

"I believe it will help purify China's Internet service,'' the official said of the software, named for the emergency police telephone number.

The software -- which comes in three versions for households, Internet cafes and schools -- can also monitor Web traffic and delete or block messages from sources deemed offensive, he said.

China routinely blocks Web sites of Western media outlets, human rights groups, the Falun Gong spiritual group, Tibetan exiles and other sources of information it deems politically sensitive or harmful.

China, which has embraced the Internet as a tool of commerce and education, issued a raft of new regulations last year governing news, Web Site content, chat rooms and e-mail.

In October, it published sweeping new regulations on Internet companies, limiting foreign investment and content and requiring strict surveillance against "subversive'' content.

But groups including dissidents and Falun Gong -- banned in China as an "[Chinese government's slanderous word]'' -- have used proxy addresses and other sophisticated methods to overcome Internet site blocks.