SHANGHAI, July 27 -- IN the West, minors sometimes buy fake driver's licenses that certify they are old enough to buy alcohol.

In China, fake adult IDs are being used to circumvent rules designed to prevent children from becoming addicted to online games - a market that has attracted 30 million players, including an untold number of youngsters.

Whether buyers and sellers will be prosecuted is unclear, however. The ID trade is fairly new, and authorities still appear to be figuring out what laws, if any, are being broken and whether violations are serious enough to merit prosecution.

The trading in adult IDs begin after China imposed restrictions last Monday on the amount of time minors can spend playing online games.

Under the rules, game players under age 18 receive only half the points they're entitled to after three hours of continuous play, and after five hours they receive no points or virtual weapons.

Online game operators, including Shanda, NetEase, The9 and Tencent, have been required to implement the restrictions.

Players must register their names and ID numbers to log on to a game site, according to the eight Chinese government departments that issued the policy, including the General Administration of Press and Publication, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Security.

Since the restrictions began, sellers have been running posts for adult IDs on Websites such as taobao.com and baidu.com. The salesmen claim to have "large quantity IDs" and provide "reliable sales."

On taobao.com, China's No. 1 auction Website, more than 3,000 posts related to games appeared yesterday after a search for "ID" sales, offing adult ID numbers for sale from three yuan to 15 yuan (US$1.97).

"We collect cards from middle-aged women and migrant workers who don't play online games," said a post on Baidu's "ID Card Forum." "We won't sell an ID to a second buyer."

Meanwhile, many students are asking for adult ID information in the Baidu forum.

One seller, who is based in Chongqing and uses the online nickname "Uniongan," even markets adult ID information over the phone.

"Buyers can get the printed copy of the ID cards, and they can enjoy discounts for large-quantity purchase," Uniongan told a Shanghai Daily reporter who called posing as a potential buyer.

Each adult ID card costs 10 yuan, and the price is cut to nine yuan for purchases of 30 or more, Uniongan said.

Some Internet cafe owners in other provinces were selling students packages that combine game time and adult ID information, according to news reports.

Whether authorities will step in to stop the trade was uncertain yesterday.

Wang Jiwei, an official at the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, said it was difficult to say whether the behavior is legal. But legal experts did point that out if the ID information is used to commit a crime, such as opening an illicit bank account, the police would investigate.

The games Websites were taking a slightly tougher stance.

Taobao.com said it will delete posts for ID sales if it receives complaints, according to its spokesman Lu Weixing.

"We often delete sales posts we think are not proper in the Chinese market, even if the sales are not strictly illegal," Lu said.

A local lawyer knowledgeable about the issue said the trading may violate China's civil law, but police probably won't investigate if the IDs are used only for game playing.

"This falls into a legal gray area as the country doesn't have a privacy protection law," said the lawyer, who declined to be identified.