Klang: Angry parents have tipped off the authorities on cybercafes which offer illegal gambling games, said Deputy Energy, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho.

"The names of the suspected cybercafes were brought to our attention and we duly passed on the information to the police and local authorities for action," he said.

Tan warned other cybercafe operators not to break the law. "Although our attention is focused on closing illegal video arcades, we are also keeping an eye on cybercafes because we believe that is where unscrupulous people will try to take advantage of, " he said after attending a dinner at the Kampung Kuantan Tian Leng temple on Thursday.

Asked if cybercafes could provide computer games as entertainment for patrons, Tan replied: "As long as the games are not constituted as gambling activities they can." "Computer users can also play games they designed themselves, as long as it does not involve gambling."

Earlier in his speech, Tan said Malaysians could not afford to be laggards in information technology. He said that for example, Bangalore in India could afford to compete with the famed Silicon Valley of the United States because of knowledge power.