A national survey of publications bought by Chinese people in 2005 shows that nearly half were pirated.

Pirated publications - books, films, music CDs and software - accounted for 45.5 percent of media product purchases in 2005.

This is a slightly decrease and the first drop in the publication piracy rate in six years, according to the survey, which covered 20 provinces and garnered 8,078 valid replies.

The tiny 0.5 percentage point drop on the 2003 figure can be attributed to the government's effort to crack down on piracy, according to the survey released by the China Publication Science Institute, a major national publication research institute that surveys publication consumption every two years.

Audio visual products were the most frequently purchased pirate products, followed by books, software and reference books.

Chinese people still know little about copyright, the survey said.

More than 60 percent of respondees had heard the term "copyright", but had no clear idea what it meant. About 30 percent were unable to tell whether a publication is pirated or not.

China has confiscated 8.3 million illegal CDs and DVDs as part of a 100-day crackdown on piracy which began on July 25.

The survey also shows that the number of Chinese who read books and magazines has fallen. By contrast, the number of people who read online is on the rise.

Martial arts novels topped the list of reading favorites and online chat, news and games were the most popular online activities.

Source: Xinhua