BEIJING - China's cultural ministry announced  Monday that it would hand down punishments for 14 websites that have provided illegal music downloads, including Baidu's "BaiduMP3" service.

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An official from the ministry said BaiduMP3 and 13 other sites have continued to provide download services for unregistered "illicit" music, even after repeated warnings not to do so.

The ministry previously gave punishments for 54 music websites in mid-March "in line with the country's Internet regulations," the official said.

The ministry also announced that it would punish 20 online gaming companies, including Shenzhen Xunlei Network Technology, Ltd in southern Guangdong, which have used "vulgar" promotional methods for their games. Four other companies, including Pten in the city of Wenzhou in eastern Zhejiang province, have been censured for operating online gaming venues without a license.