On September 29, the SCMP reported that Beijing's Industry and Commerce Bureau has started using a computer-based advertisement monitoring system to find advertisers who make illegal claims about their products:

[The system] will sort through 30,000 commercials aired and published in the capital each day.

The Beijing Morning Post reported that the system will monitor 26 television programmes, 13 radio shows, three mobile telecommunication companies, and dozens of newspapers, magazines and internet websites.

Proponents maintain it will be able to differentiate advertising from editorial, all the time looking for ads that claim a product is the best or better than a rival's offering.

Using a database of illegal text and pictures, the system is designed to spot the illicit messages and alert staff.

For example, it is designed to detect pharmaceutical advertisements containing the characters for "number one" or "100 per cent cure rate". When the characters crop up, they will be highlighted in red, eliminating the need for staff to scan an entire page of advertising.

The original article is archived on Asia Pacific Media Network here. Thanks to Bonny Vegas for the link.