BEIJING - An Internet marketing company has been shut down for illegally disseminating news information by masquerading as an official news source, according to the State Information Office.

Golden Mango, a company based in the city of Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong province, registered multiple websites in the name of engaging in marketing and business promotions.

An investigation found that the company forged websites to make them appear to be representative of mainstream news sources for the purpose of fooling the public, according to the office.

Commercial portals such as Sina.com and Sohu.com were also spoofed by the company.

"The fake websites have disturbed online news communication order, discredited mainstream media and infringed on people's legal rights," according to the office.

Units and individuals are encouraged to report such scams to local public security departments, it added.