A private domain name consisting of aoyun huoju, the Chinese pinyin of "Olympic torch", has been recalled by Chinese officials, local media said.

Chen Xianfeng, a resident in Dalian city of northeast China's Liaoning Province, registered the domain name www.aoyunhuoju.com.cn with one yuan (13 US cents). However, a notice from the Ministry of Information Industry arrived on Wednesday has ordered him to give up the name, the Dalian-based Peninsula Morning Post newspaper reported.

"The notice said the name includes 'aoyun huoju', or 'Olympic torch', so it has to be recalled unconditionally." the newspaper quoted Chen as saying.

"I totally understand the decision of recalling because if the name was put into commercial use, the authority of the Olympic Games will be damaged," Chen said.

Chen said he applied the domain name with the intention of holding an online signature drive to support the Beijing Olympic Games, but he has not started to design a website.

Chen, 27, has been successful in spotting business opportunities from registration of domain names which might become popular targets of companies.

The Chinese Ministry of Information Industry launched a six-month campaign against malicious registration of domain names or deliberate registration for profit-taking since November last year.

(Xinhua News Agency May 4, 2007)