Rush to Sign Chinese Petition

China's growing influence is being felt as never before on the internet, where in less than a month 16 million people have signed a petition against Japan's attempt to get a permanent seat on the UN security council.

The campaign by a Chinese group in the US, the Alliance for Preserving the Truth about the Sino-Japanese War, has shaken the government in Beijing, which has ordered the domestic media to play it down, even though it is by far the biggest mobilisation of internet opinion in the country's history.

Japan is the second biggest financial contributor to the UN and believes this should be reflected in a more responsible role.

Britain and the US support it, China and South Korea are opposed.