China demands real names from mobile phone users

China is now requiring people setting up new mobile phone accounts to register with their real identities as part of a new government measure to reduce anonymity among the country's 800 million mobile users.

All carriers are to adopt the real-name registration system starting this month, said China Telecom spokesman Xu Fei. Within three years, the carriers must also register the real identities of all existing users.

"The policy on existing users is not being carried out very forcefully," Xu said. "If existing users do not register their names, their service probably will not be discontinued." Street newsstands in China, where cell phone accounts were once conveniently sold, will also be prohibited from selling SIM cards, Xu added.