BEIJING - The National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications has taken down or confiscated 435,000 illegal websites and books deemed harmful to children in a campaign launched to coincide with the start of the school year in early September.

The websites all carried pornography, said the office in a statement on Wednesday, without going into detail on the illegality of the books.

The office sent five teams of inspectors to 10 provinces and municipalities including Beijing and Guangdong from Sept. 7 to 22, particularly targeting book sellers near schools.

They also found printing firms illegally producing supplements to school textbooks without approval and book shops selling obscene comics.

The violators will be punished, according to the statement.

Nearly 28,000 members of the public provided tip-offs for the campaign, it added.