On March 8, Wang Xiaofeng, a senior writer for the Beijing-based Sanlian Life Weekly shut down his popular blog, as did Yuan Lei, an entertainment reporter for Guangzhou-based Southern Weekend.

Both blogs displayed this message:"Because of unavoidable reasons known to all, this blog is now temporarily closed."

That evening, a Reuters report said:"Two of China's most adventurous Web logs closed Wednesday under government orders, the latest in a wave of shutdowns as Chinese censors tighten controls in cyberspace."

The report was used by at least 200 international media organizations.

"We tried the prank to test how foreign media would react. And this is exactly what we anticipated," Wang Xiaofeng was quoted by the paper as saying.

Wang's blog, named"Massage Milk," is among the most popular in China. His acerbic writings on culture and entertainment have won him a best Chinese-language blog award from Deutsche Welle as well as a legion of loyal fans. Yuan's blog, named"Milk Pig," comments on the nation's entertainment scene.

A source close to Reuters' Beijing office, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said they failed to reach Wang for confirmation over the closure of his blog and did not check with the relevant government agency.

Wang Xiaofeng said he was annoyed of being constantly misquoted by the foreign media.

"Every time they interviewed me, they tried to steer the questions towards political topics, in which I have no interest. Even if I made no mention of anything political, the articles would come out as if I were an activist," he said.

The most common words used by Reuters and other international media to describe Wang's and Yuan's blogs are"outspoken" and"adventurous." Asked how accurate these terms are, Wang said:"Nonsense."

There were also suggestions that Wang and Yuan staged the hoax to test how influential they were. Wang denied this was part of their motivation.

"We intended to keep our blogs down for four or five days. But the rush of biased judgment came swifter than I expected," Wang said.

Both blogs were up and running a day later.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)