BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government looks set to back down from its long-held intention to impose strict real-name registration for the country's 20 million bloggers after outcries from the industry.

In a draft self-discipline code for blog services published by the Internet Society of China (ISC) on Tuesday, real-name registration is only to be "encouraged" instead of being made compulsory.

Government departments have been promoting a real-name system for years, arguing it would force Internet users to watch their words and actions and to refrain from slander, pornography and dissemination of other "harmful" information.

But the proposal has triggered protests from the Internet industry and the growing number of Internet users.

The ISC, with the backing of the Ministry of Information Industry, is trying to rally industry players to sign up to the self-discipline code for the promotion of a less rigorous real-name system.

According to the draft, an author's real name is not compulsory for opening a blog, but bloggers are encouraged to register their real names and real information with service providers when they open.

Those who voluntarily register their real names may choose whether or not publish their real names, or they can use pseudonyms in blog articles. Blog service providers must ensure security and confidentiality of information that bloggers prefer to keep secret, the draft code said.

The code, published on the Internet to solicit public opinions, was drafted by a blog research group within the ISC, consisting of blog providers and industry experts, which was set up in October 2006 to discuss issues on the development and regulations of the blog industry.

It aims to prescribe the obligations of both blog service providers and bloggers through self-discipline, requiring providers to improve their services and standardize their businesses as well as reminding blog users of their social responsibilities.

China has more than 20 million registered blogs, which most bloggers consider an essential medium of expression, but government officials have raised concerns over the spread of "unhealthy" information in some blogs.