A Chinese cultural official called for an all-out war against piracy on Friday, saying the ongoing 100-day crackdown campaign is "fruitful" but the overall situation "not optimistic".

"Despite some achievements in anti-piracy, we are not optimistic about the overall situation on fighting piracy," said Zhang Xinjian, an official with the Ministry of Culture.

"We have to wage an all-around war against producers, shop owners and peddlers of pirated products," Zhang said.

China's culture authorities have been searching for pirated CDs, VCDs and computer software in audio-video product shops and warehouses all over the county in a 100-day campaign against piracy which started on July 14.

"The fight against piracy has proved fruitful, as several major piracy cases have been busted with more than 100,000 pirated DVDs being seized in each case," Zhang said.

However, he called for anti-piracy inspections of audio-video product shops and peddlers should be further intensified.

The ministry has urged cultural officials all over the country to thoroughly examine the walls and roofs of every audio-video product shop, said Zhang.

Cultural authorities all over the country must keep operating the 24-hour anti-piracy hotline "12318" to receive piracy reports from the public, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2006)