In atheist China online gaming is practiced as a religion. The country is home to the world's largest gaming market. A market that fetches billions of dollars in revenue for the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/amid-coronavirus-outbreak-chinas-economy-contracts-job-losses-mount-294065">Chinese </a>economy.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-american-state-of-missouri-israeli-ngo-planning-class-action-lawsuit-against-china-294075">Also Read: After American state of Missouri, Israeli NGO planning class action lawsuit against China</a>

The Chinese state understands the economic power of the gaming industry and now it has come to understand how this industry could fuel dissent amid the ongoing pandemic because online games allow Chinese citizens to freely socialize with the outside world. It allows players to exchange ideas without any censors.

Not anymore, Beijing is extending its political censorship to online games. Chinese gamers will no longer be allowed to play games with foreigners - forget having a chat. Like most things in China, this feature is now forbidden. It all started with Beijing cracking the whip on a popular Nintendo game - animal crossing.

The social simulation game allowed users to freely interact with others even pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong. It included Joshua Wong who is now at the center of a storm.

Recently, Wong customized a scene in the game and made an inscription which read - "Free Hong Kong". Thousands of other users began leveraging the game to vent their discontent against the Communist regime in similar fashion.

Now, Beijing has decided to enforce a firewall that will blind Chinese players to any sort of dissent. Multiple laws are being drafted to expand the censorship if passed then online games will be subject to state surveillance.

Players will be able to log in only with their real names. Role-playing games will be banned and online gatherings will be under watch.

In atheist China online gaming is practiced as a religion. The country is home to the world's largest gaming market. A market that fetches billions of dollars in revenue for the Chinese economy.

In atheist China online gaming is practiced as a religion. The country is home to the world's largest gaming market. A market that fetches billions of dollars in revenue for the Chinese economy. Also Read: After American state of Missouri, Israeli NGO planning class action lawsuit against China The Chinese state understands the economic power of the gaming industry and now it has come to understand how this industry could fuel dissent amid the ongoing pandemic because online games allow Chinese citizens to freely socialize with the outside world. It allows players to exchange ideas without any censors. Not anymore, Beijing is extending its political censorship to online games. Chinese gamers will no longer be allowed to play games with foreigners - forget having a chat. Like most things in China, this feature is now forbidden. It all started with Beijing cracking the whip on a popular Nintendo game - animal crossing. The social simulation game allowed users to freely interact with others even pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong. It included Joshua Wong who is now at the center of a storm. Recently, Wong customized a scene in the game and made an inscription which read - "Free Hong Kong". Thousands of other users began leveraging the game to vent their discontent against the Communist regime in similar fashion. Now, Beijing has decided to enforce a firewall that will blind Chinese players to any sort of dissent. Multiple laws are being drafted to expand the censorship if passed then online games will be subject to state surveillance. Players will be able to log in only with their real names. Role-playing games will be banned and online gatherings will be under watch.

Joshua Wong effect: China set to disallow local gamers to play with foreigners

Beijing has broadened its block of online encyclopedia Wikipedia to include all language editions, reported <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-jails-former-internet-regulator-lu-wei-for-14-years-over-graft-205795">an internet censorship research group</a>, ahead of the country's most politically explosive anniversary.

According to a report by the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chinas-xi-says-internet-must-be-clean-and-righteous-160893">China started blocking all language editions</a> of Wikipedia last month.

Previously, most editions of Wikipedia -- besides the Chinese language version, which was reportedly blocked in 2015 -- &nbsp;were available, OONI said in their report.

AFP could not open any of Wikipedia's versions in China on Wednesday.

"At the end of the day, the content that really matters is Chinese-language content," said Charlie Smith, the pseudonym of one of the co-founders of Greatfire.org, which tracks online censorship in China.

"Blocking access to all language versions of Wikipedia for internet users in China is just symbolic," he told AFP. "It symbolises the fear that the Chinese authorities have of the truth."

Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organisation that hosts Wikipedia, did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.

China's online censorship apparatus -- dubbed the "Great Firewall" -- blocks a large number of foreign sites in the country, such as Google, Facebook and The New York Times.

Topics that are deemed too "sensitive" are also scrubbed, such as the 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen pro-democracy protesters which will mark its 30th anniversary on June 4.

The expanded block of Wikipedia comes as Chinese authorities ramp up online controls and crack down on Great Firewall circumvention tools, such as virtual private network (VPN) software, under Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In November, China's cyberspace authority said it had "cleaned up" 9,800 accounts on Chinese social media platforms like messaging app WeChat and the Twitter-like Weibo that it accused of spreading "politically harmful" information and rumours.

Chinese Twitter users have also told AFP that they have experienced intimidation from local authorities -- and even detention -- for their tweets.

The latest move to block all versions of Wikipedia could be linked to online translation tools, which make it easy for Chinese users to read anything on Wikipedia, explained Smith.

Images can also be considered taboo, he said.

"A picture is worth a thousand words, and there is no dearth of Tiananmen-related imagery on the Wikipedia website," Smith added.

Beijing has broadened its block of online encyclopedia Wikipedia to include all language editions, reported an internet censorship research group, ahead of the country's most politically explosive anniversary.

Beijing has broadened its block of online encyclopedia Wikipedia to include all language editions, reported an internet censorship research group, ahead of the country's most politically explosive anniversary. According to a report by the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), China started blocking all language editions of Wikipedia last month. Previously, most editions of Wikipedia -- besides the Chinese language version, which was reportedly blocked in 2015 -- were available, OONI said in their report. AFP could not open any of Wikipedia's versions in China on Wednesday. "At the end of the day, the content that really matters is Chinese-language content," said Charlie Smith, the pseudonym of one of the co-founders of Greatfire.org, which tracks online censorship in China. "Blocking access to all language versions of Wikipedia for internet users in China is just symbolic," he told AFP. "It symbolises the fear that the Chinese authorities have of the truth." Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organisation that hosts Wikipedia, did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment. China's online censorship apparatus -- dubbed the "Great Firewall" -- blocks a large number of foreign sites in the country, such as Google, Facebook and The New York Times. Topics that are deemed too "sensitive" are also scrubbed, such as the 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen pro-democracy protesters which will mark its 30th anniversary on June 4. The expanded block of Wikipedia comes as Chinese authorities ramp up online controls and crack down on Great Firewall circumvention tools, such as virtual private network (VPN) software, under Chinese President Xi Jinping. In November, China's cyberspace authority said it had "cleaned up" 9,800 accounts on Chinese social media platforms like messaging app WeChat and the Twitter-like Weibo that it accused of spreading "politically harmful" information and rumours. Chinese Twitter users have also told AFP that they have experienced intimidation from local authorities -- and even detention -- for their tweets. The latest move to block all versions of Wikipedia could be linked to online translation tools, which make it easy for Chinese users to read anything on Wikipedia, explained Smith. Images can also be considered taboo, he said. "A picture is worth a thousand words, and there is no dearth of Tiananmen-related imagery on the Wikipedia website," Smith added.

Now, China blocks all language editions of Wikipedia

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Joshua Wong effect: China set to disallow local gamers to play with foreigners

Now, China blocks all language editions of Wikipedia