Vietnam Requires Bloggers Register

December 26, 2007 9:55 a.m. EST

Hanoi, Vietnam (AHN) - Vietnam's bloggers will be fined if they write about politically-sensitive or sexually-explicit subjects, according to new government regulations announced Wednesday.

The government said the aim is controlling, not banning, blogs. A spokesman said the regulations will help Vietnamese know what sort of content should be uploaded.

Additionally, Vietnam is hoping bloggers police their own. "I think no one will be able to supervise weblogs better than the bloggers themselves," Deputy Information and Communications Minister Do Quy Doan wrote told Vietnam's Youth Daily Newspaper.

Vietnam pointed to examples of bloggers "causing public disorder and affecting the country's foreign affairs," according to AFP.