Online marriage list to prevent bigamy in China

China is planning to make a list of all the married people in the country available on the internet in an effort to tackle bigamy.

According to the Chinese Civil Affairs Ministry, the system will detail every married couple and will include details of where and when they were wed, the Xinhua news agency reports.

Some analysts have attributed the rise in bigamy to a relaxation in the Chinese marriage laws. The requirement for couple to obtain permission from their employers to get married was dropped in 2003.

It is thought that couples are not taking marriage as seriously as they used to, as marriages are shorter and there has been a rise in the number of people who provide false matrimonial registration information.

To aid the completion of the network of online databases, the Ministry has asked its branches at both county and higher levels to provide the necessary computer equipment.

The Ministry began compiling marriage registration details of Chinese citizens in 2005, and is aiming to have the national registry of marriage details ready by 2010.