China said Friday that it has closed down 1,250 Web sites in a crackdown on pornography and vulgar content online.

Liu Zhengrong, deputy director of the Internet Affairs Bureau under the State Council Information Office, said Friday authorities have also arrested 41 people in the campaign that began Jan. 5.

“We’ve achieved obvious results,” he said, adding that there was still more work to be done.

The action is part of a continuing government crackdown on Internet pornography, which is banned in China. Despite the ban, however, it remains widely available on and off the Internet.

Popular Chinese Web portals frequently show sexually explicit pictures and provide links to pornographic Web sites.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the Internet cleanup has been extended to online games containing pornographic content.