The micro blog of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau

At least 2,428 Chinese governmental agencies and officials have been posting short messages online using domestic micro-blogging services that are similar to Twitter, according to a research report published by the Fudan University on Friday.

By March 20, government and Party departments had opened 1,708 mico-blog accounts and officials had opened 720 accounts under their own names, according to a report titled The Research Report on Micro-blogs for Chinese Political Affairs.

The research tracked and analyzed official micro-blog accounts held with prominent Internet services such as Sina, Tencent and People.com.cn, a subsidiary of People's Daily.

Official micro blogs posted on regional Internet portals such as the Shanghai-based Eastday.com and Xinmin.cn were also noted in the research, part of which considered the status of official micro blogs in Shanghai.

"Of all the official micro blog accounts, police authorities write the biggest portion and their micro blogs are the most helpful," said Zhang Zhi'an, the report's main author.

Chinese police authorities have opened 1,228 micro-blog accounts, which constitute about half the total number of official micro blogs in China. And 139 police officers have written micro blogs online, said the report.

For the police, micro-blogging has become a convenient means of publishing information and a way to ask Internet users to help them in investigations, said Zhang.