Chinese officials shut down the first dissident Web site based in that Communist nation, claiming site organizers posted "counterrevolutionary content" that is "too sharp and anti-government." Even as police hunt for the site's operators, authorities claim they have not decided what penalty the company running the Web site will receive, the Associated Press reports.

The New Culture Forum site, the first of its kind in China, had been run by dissidents in Shandong Province, according to the New York-based group Human Rights in China. Police are searching for the site's administrator, who goes by the name "Xin Wenming" -- which in Chinese sounds like the phrase "new culture" and may be a pseudonym, AP reports.

This is the second time in two months Chinese officials have cracked down on a prominent dissident site. In June they arrested Huang Qi, who directed the well-regarded www.6-4tianwang.com dissident site, located on a U.S.-based Web server. Huang has since been officially charged with subversion and faces a 10-year prison sentence, the news service reports.

The shutdown comes as Chinese leaders are faced blocking the spread of opposition to Communist Party rule, while promoting the Internet's economic benefits. Officials continuously monitor Web sites and routinely block access to political sites and foreign news, the AP reports.

It may be a losing battle, however. The number of mainland Chinese citizens with Internet access doubles every six months and is now at nearly 15 million people, according to the government's own statistics.

Police have created special units in at least 20 provinces and cities to patrol the Web, AP reports.

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