Why do you think Americans care so much about an “issue” that ignites so little controversy in Europe?

Why do you think Americans care so much about an “issue” that ignites so little controversy in Europe? Why are we alone in the developed world in our intense distress about the fact that a minority of people are erotically attracted to members of their own sex rather than to the opposite sex?

Even as the Evangelical [J1] Lutherans were timidly saying that it was all right for a minister to be gay if he was in a monogamous [J2] long-term relationship, yet another gay-bashing right-wing Republican politician was caught in a compromising situation in a public restroom.

Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho was arrested in a sting operation in a bathroom at the Minneapolis Airport, and he says he pled guilty to disorderly conduct, without the advice of an attorney, in order to make the case “go away.” Then he held a press conference, with the obligatory stone-faced wife at his side, saying that he was not gay and had never been gay—that he only entered a guilty plea to keep the whole thing out of the media.

It made one queasy[J3] to hear Craig describes his “wide stance” in the bathroom as the explanation for his hands and feet having wandered under the barrier separating him from the cop in the next stall.

I would have felt deeply sorry for the blockheaded [J4] senator (how could he possibly have thought he could keep such an arrest out of the papers?) if he were not one of those moralizers who wants to police everyone else’s sex life. How terrible it must be to live an entirely life at odds with your deepest desires, and how terrible it must be for a woman to know that she has been living with such a man for years.

Significantly[J5] , Republican senators immediately called for Craig’s resignation. The rush to penalize someone suspected of being gay contrasts sharply with conservatives’ tolerance for colleagues involved in corruption scandals and, for that matter, in heterosexual misconduct. Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, for example, is back at work in the Senate after confessing to having had relations with prostitutes. Female prostitutes, that is. One can only imagine how swiftly Vitters Republican colleagues would have abandoned him if he had been fooling around with male prostitutes.

Is the power of fundamentalist religion, again unique in the developed world, the only explanation for the American fixation on gays as a threat to traditional values? Perhaps this also has something to do with traditional images of American masculinity—the Marlboro Man, the rugged cowboy who would never have dreamed of engaging in the kind of activities described in the movie “Brokeback Mountain.”

All I know is that we have heard more about Sen. Craig’s bathroom encounter during the past week than we have about the continued fighting and dying in Iraq. That scares me.

Replying to:

Significantly, Republican senators immediately called for Craig’s resignation. The rush to penalize someone suspected of being gay contrasts sharply with conservatives’ tolerance for colleagues involved in corruption scandals and, for that matter, in heterosexual misconduct. Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, for example, is back at work in the Senate after confessing to having had relations with prostitutes. Female prostitutes, that is. One can only imagine how swiftly Vitters Republican colleagues would have abandoned him if he had been fooling around with male prostitutes.

Posted by Susan_Jacoby

I'm sure it never crossed the minds of GOP Senators that if Craig resigns, a Republican governor will name his replacement while if Vitter resigns, a Democratic governor would name his replacement.

Funny how that works.

It just goes to show that the whole thing, the 'defense of marriage' acts (recently struck down in Iowa) the demonization of gays, the attempts to regulate private sex lives and personal morals of all citizens, is politically motivated.

In a world that is changing rapidly, there are a lot of people that stand to lose their privileged status. White, Christian males used to to be THE power block in this country. So many of their 'perks' are under attack. The population is increasingly non-white. Nonchristian religions (and also Catholicism) are on the rise. Spanish is heard more and more often on American streets. Women are actually demanding equality with men!

All of these things concern those who see their privileges slipping away - but none of them are particularly attractive as a rallying cry. The decreasing whiteness of America (even when wrapped in the shroud of 'illegal immigration') wreaks of racism. Complaining about women's rights and non-Christian religion is attractive to some, but it turns off many Americans who still think that America is a land of freedom and equality.

But demonizing the gays works.

Bigots can lie and say that being gay is a choice. They point to cherry picked bible verses, making points with the Christianist crowd. Anti-gay groups use the 'ick' factor to their advantage. They rely on people not knowing any gay people, ignorance making the demonization of a faceless 'other' that much easier.

It's all about the politics of 'us versus them.' The people in (tenuous) positions of power just picked the most opportune 'them.'

---

[J1]n.

(大寫)新教徒;福音派教徒

[J2]a.

一夫一妻的

[J3]a.

嘔吐的;催吐的;易於反胃的

[J4]笨蛋

[J5]值得注意地；意味深長地

Toyota aims to put robots to use early next decade

Chang-Ran Kim, Asia auto correspondent, Reuters

Published: Thursday, December 06, 2007

TOKYO - Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday it aims to put its humanoid and other advanced robots to practical use soon after 2010 to help people in factories, hospitals, homes and around town.

Unveiling two new robots called the "mobility robot" and the "violin-playing robot," Japan's top automaker said it would step up research and development in the field, including by doubling the number of engineers to about 200 in around three years.

It will also build a research facility dedicated to robot technology on the site of one of its domestic factories next year, President Katsuaki Watanabe said.

Researchers in Japan, including from academia and companies such as rival Honda Motor Co., are racing to build robots smart enough to serve the needs of the elderly in a country where 40 percent of the population is expected to be over 65 by 2055.

"Over the next two to three years, we will put the robots to the test through trial applications and see what kind of business possibilities they present," Watanabe told a news conference.

Under its recently crafted long-term plan dubbed "Global Vision 2020," Toyota aims to make the robotics field one of its core businesses by 2020.

In a demonstration of the new achievements, Toyota brought out the 152 cm (5 ft), two-legged violin-playing robot, which gave a brief performance -- complete with vibrato sound -- from Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" Marches, popular at graduation ceremonies in Japan.

Toyota plans to further advance the robot's dexterity and flexibility to enable it to use tools and assist with domestic chores and nursing and medical care. The robot now has 17 joints in both of its hands and arms.

Its new "mobility robot," aimed at helping people with short-distance transport, is an intelligent wheelchair that can maneuver uneven ground and obstacles, and be remotely controlled to go to a person's bedside.

The robot, which looks like a bulky high-chair on wheels, can also follow a person at a measured pace, functioning as a porter, and has wheels that swivel at an angle to keep the seat level when going over bumps or up a hill.

Toyota envisages its "Partner Robot" initiative helping people in four fields -- domestic duties, nursing and medical care, manufacturing, and short-distance personal transport.

Watanabe said Toyota hoped to boost collaboration with academia and the government to achieve practical applications for the robots, while remaining open to cooperation with other companies in the field.

While R&D spending would rise from such efforts, Executive Vice President Takeshi Uchiyamada said technology gleaned from the robots such as stability control and visual recognition could be poured back into improving cars.

© Reuters 2007

China defends Three Gorges dam

By Tim Johnson - McClatchy Newspapers

November 28, 2007

Beijing — China’s Cabinet defended the showcase Three Gorges dam Tuesday, saying the huge reservoir behind the world’s largest hydropower project isn’t triggering earth tremors or landslides.

In a glowing report responding to a tide of negative foreign press coverage, officials said that the Three Gorges project has opened China’s interior to greater trade, provided the nation with a bountiful source of clean fuel and tamed the flood-prone Yangtze River.

“We are going to be able to weather the worst flooding of every 1,000 years,” said Wang Xiaofeng, the deputy director of the Cabinet-level office in charge of the dam.

At a nationally televised news conference, an engineer lashed out at foreign media and drew seemingly spontaneous applause from Chinese journalists.

“I want to speak to you from the bottom of my heart,” began Pan Jiazheng, a hydrologist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Accusing foreign reporters of holding “a deep prejudice against China” and trying “to make issues out of nothing,” he read from foreign newspaper headlines that referred to “The Demon on the Yangtze River” and warned that “The Three Gorges project has become a time bomb of global warming.”

“Please don’t demonize what is happening in China,” Pan said.

The ruling Communist Party has backed the giant Three Gorges project for two decades, saying that while it inconveniences 1.3 million residents of some 100 cities and towns who were forced to relocate along the Yangtze, it’s benefiting vast downstream regions with flood control and abundant electricity.

The Wall Street Journal reported in late August that the dam has triggered landslides and worsened water pollution and silting in the reaches above the dam.

An Oct. 12 McClatchy Newspapers report also focused on landslides along the 410-mile reservoir behind the dam. Since then, The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Economist and other publications have carried critical articles.

Towering 600 feet above the Yangtze River, the Three Gorges dam contains 19 turbines pumping out electricity for much of southern and western China.

The dam’s main span was finished in May 2006, and water levels have climbed 300 feet in the huge reservoir rising behind the dam since then, putting stress on slopes.

Li Yong’an, the general manager of the Three Gorges Project Development Corp., said landslides along the Yangtze’s steep slopes occurred frequently before the dam was built, including about 40 during the 1980s.

“There has been no major geological disasters because of the rise of the water levels,” Li said.

Last week, a landslide at the mouth of a tunnel crushed a bus in Badong County, near a tributary to the dam, killing 31 people. Other landslides in the past year have careened down the slopes of the gorge and killed more than a dozen people.

Gas-free cars will soon hit streets

By Ken Bensinger, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

November 15, 2007

Coming soon to a freeway -- or driveway -- near you: cars that don't need gasoline.

American Honda Motor Co., Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. announced plans at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday to put alternative fuel technology vehicles on the road in California in coming months. A few drivers will even get to park them in their garages.

Honda and GM's Chevrolet have developed hydrogen fuel cell-powered cars for limited test use, while Ford is producing a plug-in hybrid vehicle. And although none are being manufactured in large quantities -- mass production is still years away -- the limited trials will be a tantalizing taste of what's likely to come.

The FCX Clarity is what Honda calls a "production" version of a hydrogen fuel cell car it first exhibited two years ago. It promises zero emissions and luxury features such as heated seats and Bluetooth connectivity while getting about the equivalent of 68 miles per gallon.

Honda says it will lease the four-door sedans to a limited number of people in Irvine, Santa Monica and Torrance by next summer. (Those areas are being targeted because they're near hydrogen refueling centers.) The three-year lease -- the first time fuel cell cars will have been made commercially available anywhere -- will be $600 a month, or about the cost of a BMW 5 Series, Honda executives said.

Motorists will be able to keep the cars at home and drive them as they please while being mindful that the fuel tank allows them to go 270 miles between fill-ups. The leases include insurance and mechanical service from Honda.

The Japanese automaker won't say how much each FCX Clarity costs to make but admits the lease comes nowhere near to covering its expenses. Hydrogen fuel cell cars, which convert hydrogen into electricity used to power a motor, can cost $1 million or more each to make.

"At the end of the lease, we definitely want them back," said Dan Bonawitz, vice president of corporate planning and logistics for Honda. The company will use the lease term to gather information on the vehicle.

GM, meanwhile, says it will distribute 100 hydrogen fuel cell-powered Chevrolet Equinox crossovers over the next half year, including 10 that it will lend to Walt Disney Co. Like the Honda FCX, the Equinoxes will be used for company research.

"These will give up a good practical test of where these cars belong," said GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, adding that other Equinoxes will end up in "the hands of the public" and celebrities.

Honda and GM are focusing on Southern California because of its relative abundance of hydrogen fuel stations. Beyond Santa Monica, Irvine and Torrance, there are stations in Burbank, Diamond Bar and Long Beach, and about 20 others in the state. In many other parts of the country, there are no stations.

In California, Bonawitz said, hydrogen per kilogram, the unit used for the fuel, costs $4 to $10. A tank could cost $16 to $40 to fill.

Ford, meanwhile, is lending 20 plug-in hybrid Escapes to Southern California Edison.

The utility, which will use them as fleet vehicles, is to take delivery next month. Ford said it had planned to announce the partnership on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" but was unable to do so because of the writers strike.

Jennifer Moore, corporate news manager for Ford, says the company will use the test to study the commercialization possibilities of lithium-ion batteries and the behavior of plug-in drivers. "How do people use them? How often will they charge them? These are the questions we'll be asking," Moore said.

Who will be driving them is another question. Moore said Edison might use them as standard fleet vehicles or let employees drive them as their personal cars. And whereas Disney will use its Chevy Equinoxes as corporate shuttles, Honda wants to make sure some regular folks get behind the wheel.

To that end, it will have four fuel cell cars on hand at the Auto Show today and it will allow test drives by invited motorists and a few members of the media.

Skeptics point out that neither plug-in hybrids nor fuel cell vehicles are anywhere near ready for prime time, and are perhaps a decade or more away from true commercialization.

The tests by Honda, Ford and GM are "a demonstration on the part of the carmakers that they're green," said David Healy, an analyst at Burnham Securities. "Or at least that they look like they're green."

Microsoft Office bound for the Web

Microsoft Office heads to the Web

By Ina Fried
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: September 30, 2007, 9:00 PM PDT

SEATTLE--In another clear sign that Microsoft sees the threat posed by its traditional business moving online, the company is readying a rival to Google's Documents and Spreadsheets.

The software maker is announcing Office Live Workspace, a free online tool for viewing, sharing and storing--but not editing--Office documents online. (Its existing Office Live efforts will be rebranded as Office Live Small Business.) It's not quite ready--starting Monday customers will be able to put in their name to be part of a beta testing program expected to begin later this year.

Still, the effort is a recognition that competition is heating up in the productivity arena, an area that large rivals had basically ceded to Microsoft a few years ago. In addition to Google's effort, which as of earlier this month also includes presentation software, IBM announced its free Lotus Symphony productivity software, which prompted 100,000 downloads in its first week of availability.

Adobe, meanwhile, on Monday is expected to announce it has acquired Virtual Ubiquity, a start-up that has built a Web-based word processor, called Buzzword, using Adobe's Flash and AIR technologies. Adobe is also introducing a service, code-named Share, that allows people to share and store documents via the Web.

A blend of online services and traditional software
For Microsoft, Office Live Workspace is also the next step in what the company touts as its "software plus services" strategy, essentially the notion that online services can serve as a complement to locally run software, but not necessarily fully replace software running on a consumer's own desktop machine or on a businesses server.

In some cases, though, Microsoft is also offering its traditional server software entirely as a hosted service. To start with, Microsoft is launching hosted versions of its Exchange e-mail and calendar program, its SharePoint portal software and Office Communications Server, its product for handling corporate instant messaging and telephony. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and other executives had previously said that such a service was coming.

Initially, the offer is aimed at large businesses that plan to use the software for more than 5,000 people. Microsoft Online Services, as that project is known, is born of a two-year-old effort in which companies such as Energizer Holdings and XL Capital essentially outsourced their desktop computing efforts to Microsoft.

Microsoft is moving cautiously with both efforts. By limiting the software hosting to the largest customers, it hopes to give partners that already offer hosted services some time to find a new niche and allow Microsoft to test itself with a smaller number of customers, before broadly offering the service directly. Partners will still be able to offer their own hosted service if they choose, or resell Microsoft's hosted service.

On the Office Live Workspace front, Microsoft will initially offer the product with no advertising, though Microsoft executives said that it has been designed so that ads can be shown in the future.

The company is also not allowing people to edit their documents online, but executives stressed over and over that Microsoft is committed to being the leader in productivity software and that includes online editing. (Translation: We don't think we need to have editing in there right now, but if that changes, we're prepared to do so.)

Another key project down the road is integrating Office Live Workspaces with other "Live" products such as Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger, so that people will be able to view Office attachments they get via e-mail or IM. Google currently allows Gmail users to open attachments in Google Docs.

Microsoft has already said it has big plans for Office Live. At its partner conference in July, COO Kevin Turner said the product has the potential to be one of the company's top three or four most-used products.

Nor is the company stopping there. It is also planning an ad-funded version of Microsoft Works, has trialed prepaid cards for time-limited versions of Office and is exploring still other approaches to offer Office in as many ways as it can without overloading customers.

"We've put more of our marketing IQ behind alternative business models and alternative distribution strategies in the last two years," Corporate Vice President Chris Capossela said in an interview at the partner conference.

Script of the podcast of ICRT local news

Subject: Chen Blasts Past Presidents Over Loss of U.N. seat
Return to Table of contents

President Chen Shui-bian says late President Chiang Kai-shek should be held
responsible for the country's loss of the U.N. seat in 1971 and that his son,
Jiang Jing-guo, who was premier and president between 1972 and 1988, failed
to push for the country to re-enter the U.N.

Touting the government's campaign to promote the country's U.N. bid under
the name Taiwan, Chen is critizing the opposition KMT for continuing to
push for the U.N. bid under the country's official title, the Republic of
China, describing the act as "self-deceiving."

Chen made the remarks while attending the opening of an exhibition on the
loss of Taiwan's U.N. membership and the outlook for the country's quest for
U.N. seat under the name Taiwan.

The exhibition, which features historical and official documents and books,
will run through Nov. 1 at the National Central Library in Taipei.

---

Subject: Suicide at Presidential Residence
Return to Table of contents

Security officials are investigating the apparent suicide attempt of a guard
at President Chen Shui-bian's residence in downtown Taipei.

Television news report says the guard shot himself with his own gun at around
8:30 this morning.

The man was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Officials say the guard has worked at the presidential residence for several
years, and they are at a loss as to why the man would attempt to take his own
life.

---

Subject: NCC Advises Parents on Graphic TV
Return to Table of contents

The National Communications Commission or NCC is advising parents on how to cope with the legal opening of adult programs on cable TV.

The NCC says it will ensure that children are denied access to profanity不敬的、褻瀆的語言and sexually explicit programs.

Defending their licensing of a cable TV system to provide free
pornographic programs on basic cable TV... NCC officials say the move
was predicated on proper controls to keep the programming out of reach of
minors.

NCC officials said that the opening is being made in accordance with
government policy.

The NCC, established less than two years ago, is Taiwan's highest media
regulator.

Missiles make PRC think twice about attack.

Missiles make PRC think twice about attack.

CHENG CHENG-IOK (鄭正煜)

Sunday, Oct 28, 2007

Before 2000, Taiwan's top defense strategy against China was "effective deterrence and resolute defense." In case of war, the plan was to "detain the enemy on the opposite shore, fight the enemy at sea, and destroy the enemy if they land." The Taiwan Strait and the coast of Taiwan itself were considered the main battlefield. This was a passive attitude to defense. In the event of conflict, the battlefield would be the Taiwan Strait, and the fight would extend to Taiwan's coast and into the hinterland.

During the presidential elections in 2000, Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) favored the idea of "offshore engagement" as part of defense strategy. He hoped this would ensure that any armed conflict would not ravage the country. At the time, a lot of people laughed: How could Taiwan be powerful enough to engage China "offshore?"

Around 2004, the Southern Taiwan Society invited an expert working in the US to discuss the military situation in Taiwan and China. During the meeting, a member of the society asked if Taiwan had the power to launch a counterattack against China. The expert replied that it did not.

After Chen became president, the budget for the military-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology -- which is in charge of weapons research and development -- was immediately increased from NT$7 billion (US$216 million) to NT$9 billion. Information about three new missiles -- the Hsiung Feng III, Hsiung Feng IIE and Tien Kung III -- was released in both national and foreign media. Recently, the US put pressure on Taiwan not to display the Hsiung Feng IIE cruise missile in the military parade on Double Ten National Day, and made it clear it did not want Taiwan to deploy the missile on its outlying islands.

The missile's range is 600km, which means Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and the Three Gorges Dam would be within its reach. The Hsiung Feng IIE gives Taiwan the power needed for "offshore engagement." The US, wanting to halt further research by Taiwan that might enable it to build a missile with a range of 1,000km, is now said to be considering selling Tomahawk missiles to Taiwan.

Between 2001 and last year, Chen has given instructions for the allocation of NT$19 billion to research and development of the Tien Kung III missile. Combined with US-supplied Patriot and Hawk missiles, this has equipped Taiwan with a potent arsenal of anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems. There is also speculation that because its research and development system was joined with that of missiles with a range of 1,000km, the Tien Kung III might become the first of more Taiwanese medium-range missiles.

Chen has done everything in his power to protect research and development of Taiwanese missiles, and offshore engagement capabilities have been realized. It is now one of the considerations that Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) points out in his internal directives: If a military conflict broke out in the Taiwan Strait, China's coast could be a seriously affected, halting economic development.

(to be continued)

Will collect your notebooks for grading at the coming session!

2007 Nobel in Economics: Designing Better Markets

2007 Nobel in Economics: Designing Better Markets Three Americans -- including the oldest-ever Nobel Prize winner -- will share award for creating mechanism design theory.

Many things perform effectively but not efficiently. To be efficient means to produce a desired effect with as little waste as possible.

How can markets be designed to make them more efficient? This is a question that the three winners of this year's Nobel Prize in economics have tried to answer. They established mechanism design theory.

It began with work by Leonid Hurwicz of the University of Minnesota in nineteen sixty. Eric Maskin of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and Roger Myerson of the University of Chicago further developed it.

The three Americans will share the award worth about one and a half million dollars. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the winners this week.

In everyday life, there are many things that get in the way of efficient markets. There may not be true competition. Buyers and sellers may keep some information private from each other. Also, the production and use of goods may result in outcomes like pollution or social costs.

Mechanism design theory permits economists to identify situations where markets work well and where they do not. For example, it shows why an auction is generally the most efficient way to sell many kinds of goods.

In fact, experts say the theory explains why a version called a double auction is often the best way to trade. In a double auction, buyers and sellers both make price bids.

The Swedish academy says the theory also explains why there is often no good market solution to providing some goods, like uncrowded roads.

Mechanism design theory is part of the wider economic idea of game theory and it has many uses -- including in political science.

Roger Myerson even built a mathematical model for elections. He found a voting system that he says would have helped Florida avoid its problems in the two thousand presidential election.

The Nobel Prize award ceremonies will take place on December tenth. The official name of the economics award is the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The Swedish central bank created the prize in nineteen sixty-eight.

Leo Hurwicz was born in Russia in nineteen seventeen. He developed new ways to understand markets. He began his work after World War Two. At ninety years old, he is the oldest person ever to win a Nobel Prize.

'Green' Schools Grow Around US

Voice of America

11 October 2007

Environmentally friendly designs cost more to build. But supporters say they lead to energy and water savings and healthier students.

In Alexandria, Virginia, the two thousand students at T.C. Williams High School started classes last month in a new building. It was built as a "green" school based on requirements from the United States Green Building Council.

The council is a nonprofit organization made up of building industry leaders. It has a rating system for buildings called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED.

In two thousand one, there were four schools asking for LEED certification. Now there are four hundred, including T.C. Williams. So far, fifty-eight schools have been recognized for meeting the requirements.

These include protecting natural areas and limiting the amount of chemicals in building materials. They also include better lighting and improved indoor air quality.

Buildings are also rated on how well they use energy and water, and on things like the use of recycling programs.

At T.C. Williams, one example of green design can be seen in the many windows that let in natural light. Students say the sunny rooms help them stay awake during class.

A rooftop garden is designed to provide stormwater control and help keep the building cool in the sun. And an underground tank can store one million seven hundred thousand liters of rainwater for air conditioning and other systems.

The new building cost about ninety million dollars to build. It stands next to the old T.C. Williams building, which officials say will slowly be taken apart and recycled.

T.C. Williams High School is still waiting for the final part of the LEED certification process. Schools receive points for the number of requirements they meet. Buildings are rated silver, gold or platinum.

Around the country, concerns about limited budgets for public schools sometimes lead to objections to investing in green schools. But the Green Building Council points to a report by Capital E, a Washington, D.C., company that serves the clean energy industry.

Capital E examined the cost of thirty green schools in the United States. It says the average cost was only two percent higher compared to a traditional school. And it says this extra cost is small compared to the savings over time from lower energy and water costs and healthier students.

Beijing introduces animated police to patrol Internet

BEIJING/AP

2007-08-30

Police in Beijing said they will start patrolling the Web using animated beat officers巡邏區或路線 that pop up on a user's browser and walk, bike or drive across the screen warning them to stay away from illegal Internet content.

Starting on Saturday, the cartoon alerts will appear every half hour on 13 of China's top portals, including Sohu (搜狐) and Sina (新浪) and by the end of the year will appear on all Web sites registered with Beijing servers, the Beijing Public Security Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The animated police appeared designed to startle Web surfers and remind them that authorities closely monitor Web activity. However, the statement did not say whether there were plans to further boost monitoring.

The male and female cartoon officers, designed for the ministry by Sohu, will offer a text warning to surfers to abide by the law and tips on Internet security as they move across the screen in a virtual car, motorcycle or on foot, it said.

If Internet users need police help they can click on the cartoon images and will be redirected to the authority's Web site, it said.