VietNamNet Bridge – The Ha Noi's Department of Information and Communications (HICD) has asked internet providers to immediately suspend services for those online gaming and internet shops located within a metre radius of schools.
The move has been made after the department's recent inspection found that the city still has 77 internet service dealers in operation near schools, said Deputy Director of the city's Department for Information and Communications Nguyen Xuan Quang.


"The HICD has sent the names and addresses of the offending outlets to providers and asked them to suspend services and report their result to the HICD before May 15," said Quang.


Quang said that internet management still faced difficulties due to the inefficient collaboration in management activities among authorities. Some cultural and information divisions in districts were embarrassed about having to clamp down on online gaming shops.


Hua Duc Thinh from the Son Tay Commune's Cultural and Information Division said that two outlets have appeared near schools since the beginning of this year.


"We should be allowed to license internet dealers in order to ensure tighter management," said Thinh.


Thinh said that stronger measures like power and water cuts or higher levels of fines should be implemented to crack down on the offending shops.


The HICD also said that the police should actively join the inspection and management activities in order to strengthen the implementation of the policy.


In the last eight months local authorities have inspected 28 shops, demanding that 10 shops should have their internet services suspended and collected administrative fines totalling VND13.5 million (US$615).


Ha Noi decided to stop licensing on-line gaming shops, and heavily restricted the normal operating hours of internet cafes since last August, in an effort to cut the number of young people enjoying easy access to the internet for gaming and chat facilities.


VietNamNet/Viet Nam News