China is expected to issue national standards for portable digital players by the end of 2007 after many were found to have defects, according to the Ministry of Information Industry (MIT).

MIT announced on June 5 that 22 of the 33 types of MP3 players it inspected in 2006 were defective. Many provided poor sound quality and had unsafe power adapters.

The findings raised concerns over the quality of China's MP3 players among overseas purchasers.

Han Jun, deputy director of MIT's science and technology department, said the players will have to pass stringent quality test before being exported.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine will apply the new national quality standards for exported MP3 players, Han said.

China had around 1,000 MP3 player makers. "Many sacrifice quality to reduce costs to snatch higher market share," said Han.

In 2006, about 100 million MP3 players were produced in China and half of them were exported, according to the Ministry of Information Industry.

(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2007)