Video pirates in China won't be full of cheer on the first day of the new millennium, as the nation will launch a new crackdown on illegal VCDs and other pirated products beginning January 1.

An official with the Ministry of Culture told Xinhua today that the anti-piracy campaign will mainly target video and audio products which are smuggled, pirated or illegally published.

Sellers of audio and video products will have to stop selling pirated products and turn in them to administrative departments before January 15, 2000. Otherwise, they face heavy fines and license suspension, said Liu Luping, with the ministry's department of culture.

The action is expected to last about 15 weeks. The ministry has published a telephone number and an e-mail address for the public to report violations.

Liu acknowledged that software piracy and smuggling became rampant this year, a situation which has "seriously threatened the domestic industry of publication."

Pirated video discs of the latest Hollywood blockbusters show up in Beijing street sellers' collections shortly after overseas release. For example, the new US hit "Anna And The King," which debuted in November, is now for sale illegally in the Chinese capital.

The Ministry of Culture organized a similar action in October, in which a total 3.16 million pirated laser video discs were confiscated, Liu added.