NetEase Gains Chinese Government Approval To Operate Online Game

Chinese Internet media company NetEase.com Inc. now has approval to run its World of Warcraft expansion game in China.

The company announced that its affiliated company, Shanghai EaseNet Network Technology Limited, has received approval from the General Administration of Press and Publication to operate The Burning Crusade, an expansion of the World of Warcraft game. The General Administration of Press and Publication is the agency in China responsible for licensing and administering online games in China.

Shanghai EaseNet licenses World of Warcraft, a massively multi-player online role-playing game, for operation in China from Blizzard Entertainment Inc.

In November 2009, a new Chinese government edict stated NetEase.com had no authority to operate the World of Warcraft game and the company should immediately stop charging users to play the game.