Rumours of coup lead to arrests in China

A spokesman for the SIIO told state news agency Xinhua earlier that the two websites had been "criticised and punished accordingly"

The internet rumours have spooked China's top leadership-bbc

BBC reported Chinese police had arrested six people and shut 16 websites after rumours were spread that military vehicles were on the streets of Beijing, officials said.

The web posts were picked up last week by media outlets around the world, amid uncertainty caused by the ouster of top political leader Bo Xilai.

The State Internet Information Office (SIIO) said the rumours had a "very bad in- fluence on the public".

Two popular microblogs have temporarily stopped users from posting comments.

The two sites, Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo, are still letting people post to their own sites. But they said commenting on other people's posts would be disabled between 31 March and 3 April, so they "could act to stop the spread of rumours".

A spokesman for the SIIO told state news agency Xinhua earlier that the two websites had been "criticised and punished accordingly".

The country will begin a once-in-a-decade leadership change later this year. But one of the main contenders for promotion - Bo Xilai - has just been sacked, suggesting a fierce fight behind the scenes for control of the ruling Communist Party.

Mr Bo was removed from his post amid allegations that his police chief and former ally had tried to seek asylum at a US consulate.

BBC’S Mishael Bristow reported there had been no evidence to substantiate the coup allegations.