An Internet spokesman system will be set up in various government agencies in Yunnan Province, the Shenghuo Xinbao reported yesterday.

Wu Hao, deputy director of the provincial Publicity Department, said Internet users could help the government to improve its work.

"When faced with questions from Web users, the authority should respond immediately. Traditional letters and calls don't work well, so the Internet has become an efficient channel to communicate with the public," he said.

"There is too much information on the Internet, so we mainly reply to posts about our work on bbs.clzg.cn, which is run by the government," Gao Gong, an official from the Kunming Bureau of Urban Planning told the Global Times.

A post about a shooting incident has been circulating on the Internet since March.

The poster, Shi Yan, said her younger brother, Shi Xiaohua, had been shot dead at his auto repair shop in Yiliang county, Yunnan Province on December 20, 2001, but police had yet to find the murderer.

The item raised questions about the police's efficiency.

"The local police should explain why the suspect has not been caught," someone said at bbs. clzg.cn.

The Yiliang Public Security Bureau posted a notice at china.com and bbs.clzg.cn on June 10, saying, "About 30 police officers have conducted investigations in over 100 villages and spoken to more than 5,000 people. We hope we will find the killer soon and feel sorry for the relatives of the victim."

An unnamed person said, "The Public Security Bureau didn't ignore the calls from Internet users. This is a progress even if the case has not been solved."

"If more people could provide information about the case it would help the police to find the suspect," someone else said.

"If questions about our work are posted on the Internet, we will reply to them quickly and objectively." Li Jianming, head of the Yiliang Public Security Bureau, said.

Neglecting calls from the public made over Internet would have a negative influence on our work, he said.

(Global Times?July 7, 2009)