As part of a global anti-piracy initiative, Microsoft announced that it would launch an updated version of the anti-piracy systems Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) and, for the first time in China, also introduce the Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) which is aimed at targeting pirate versions of Microsoft Office including Office XP, Office 2003 and Office 2007. The company made the announcement last week and the new system came into effect at midnight on Monday.

A wave of consternation swept through Internet chat rooms after the announcement, with netizens worried that the constant appearance of a “black screen” would interrupt their ability to use their PC. Forum and BBS users came up with satirical black screen-themed desktop backgrounds to display their opposition to the new anti-piracy measures and various online polls registered strong opposition to the move.

Update: Comments on this post have now been closed - we encourage readers who'd like to continue to discuss visa queries to head to either this section of the Beijinger forum or to Nadine's page devoted to visa issues - which can be found here - http://fxzl.blogspot.com

"We have made some arrangements according to usual international practice. That is, in the approval process we are more strict and more serious with the procedure"

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang

Beijing saw a marked drop in the number of overseas tourists in April, which fell by 5.3 percent year-on-year, according to official statistics revealed on Tuesday. Yu Xiuqin, the bureau's spokeswoman attributed the decrease partly to Beijing's tightened business visa approvals on foreign visitors for international exhibitions and conferences, because of safety concerns for the coming Olympic Games.

China Daily: Beijing sees marked drop in overseas tourists in April

An enormous amount of confusion currently exists throughout Beijing's expat community in regard to the Chinese government's apparent, but not officially announced, recent tightening of visa policies. The lack of an adequate response from government departments and spokespeople to the increasing demand for clarification of the gap between the existing regulations and commonly observed practices, has only added to the frustration felt by both business people and those hoping to travel to China during the Olympic period. As applications are being handled on a case-by-case basis, it’s almost impossible to make absolute and irrefutable statements about what’s going on, still, patterns have begun to emerge and below I outline what is known and what can be suspected to be the case in regard to the new visa situation.

What we know for sure:

If you’ve driven down the airport expressway recently, the difference is shocking: where just a month ago billboard after billboard touting luxury apartment complexes, flat-screens and all manner of consumer goods littered the landscape and blocked your view, now the horizons bordering the highway are practically advertisement-free and the ride from the airport is a calm break from the rampant materialism of the capital.

Back when games like Pacman and Frogger ruled the arcade, game geeks spent long hours trying to beat the “high score” that was usually displayed on a static screen between bouts. Nowadays social gaming connects players across the planet bringing the action to real time – technology that makes console-based games seem as arcane as Pong. Agenda interviewed David Fallarme, Marketing Manager of Playfish, a leading social gaming company owned by Electronic Arts with a development studio in Beijing, about how his company is leading the charge in this dynamic industry.

Read the full interview with David on gaming in China and who's the average gamer now at Agendabeijing.com.

As we approach the XXXth Olympiad in London, I am reminded of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the way sports have developed in China over the years.

My earliest “Chinese” sports memories are of the famed Li Ning, the gymnast who collected six medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. I remember an image of him suspended on the rings in what is known as the “Iron Cross” – muscles bulging, straight-faced, determined. As the first Olympiad in which the People’s Republic of China participated, the 1984 Summer Games marked the rise of China’s obsession with the Olympics.