Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft Corp., as well as others providing blogging technology in China, have agreed to control and censor blogs in the country.

In an accord with the Internet Society of China, part of the Information Industry Ministry, the companies have agreed to register users under their real names, and may be forced to censor posts and identify bloggers. The Internet giants have already provided Chinese police with information about their clients, resulting in arrests, in the past.

“This decision will have grave consequences for the Chinese blogosphere and marks the end of anonymous blogging. A new wave of censorship and repression seems imminent, above all in the run-up to the Communist Party of China's next congress,” the press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) announced in a statement Thursday.

The new pact states that “blog providers should monitor and manage comments ... and delete illegal and bad information in a timely manner,” while articles 11 and 12 of the agreement advise providers to equip themselves with a management system that allows them to keep bloggers' details, including their real names, addresses, contact numbers and email addresses, according to RSF.

The agreement did not ban anonymous blogging, an tool Chinese Internet users use to criticise their government. As of June, China had 162 million users, second only to the United States, Bloomberg reported.

“As they already did with website hosting services, the authorities have given themselves the means to identify those posting 'subversive' content by imposing a self-discipline pact,” RSF stated.

Microsoft defended its decision, saying the company would not ask users to reveal their identities.

“The document makes some recommendations that Microsoft does not support,” Adam Sohn, director of the company's online services group, is quoted as saying in a statement to Bloomberg. “We will not implement real-name registration for blogging in our Windows Live Spaces service.”

Bloomberg also reported that Yahoo! spokeswoman Linda Du referred their questions to the Alibaba.com Corp., which runs Yahoo!'s site in China. Porter Erisman, a spokesman for Alibaba.com, did not immediately comment, Bloomberg reported.

Other blog service providers that agreed to sign the agreement include: Renmin Wang, Xinlang, Sohu, Wangyi, Tom, Qianlong Wang, Hexun Wang, Boke Tianxia, Tianji Wang, Huasheng Zaixian, Bolianshe and Tengxun.