AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia had ordered internet cafes to install anti-porn filters and internet service providers to give customers the software, in a campaign to curb access to pornography, reports said on Wednesday.

Telephone companies and internet service providers "have been ordered to do it fast. There should not be any excuses", Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Jamaluddin Jarjis told the New Straits Times.

Under cabinet measures approved last week to crack down on porn, internet cafes will have to filter content before receiving operating licenses, and a centre will be created to receive complaints on indecent material.

Mr Jamaluddin said consumers would be given a choice as to whether they wanted to use the filtering services but that the providers must offer it at cost price.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, which regulates the two sectors, was to enforce the cabinet's directives immediately, he added.

While the government has moved to improve internet access throughout the country, it is concerned that increasing numbers of Malaysians will be able view pornography through computers and mobile devices.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak last month said access to porn websites had been blocked in government departments and that similar measures would soon follow in schools.