KUALA LUMPUR: The Government will not censor or shut down offending websites on the Internet touting photographs of nude Malaysian women.

Energy, Multimedia and Communications Ministry parliamentary secretary Chia Kwang Chye said the no censorship assurance by the Government had been provided for under the Bill of Guarantees with MSC-status companies.

"The policy is very clear. The Bill was put in place to spur the growth and achieve the target of the Multimedia Super Corridor. Because of this, the Government can never close down a website.

"However, this does not stop the police from tracing the sources of such offending materials on the website and taking action against them under existing laws.

"If successful, those people responsible for these websites can be charged with transmitting pornographic materials through the Internet," he said at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

However, Chia admitted that it was difficult for the police to trace the sources of such websites, as these might not even originate from within the country.

He was commenting on a report in The Star that nude photos of Malaysian women had started appearing on the Internet including those of local celebrities.

A check showed that these website owners had even started a Malaysian "sex web ring," with one claiming to be the first and hottest Malaysian sex site.

Chia advised those women implicated in the "Malaysian sex web ring" to lodge police reports or take other legal action against the sources of such materials.

"Surfers can self-censor and avoid these undesirable websites. Parents can also purchase filtering software available in the market to screen off these photos from their children," he said.