BEIJING (AFX) - Skype, Ebay's internet communications unit, said its partner in China has filtered text messages in compliance with censorship laws, the Financial Times reported.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Niklas Zennstrom, Skype's chief executive, said the censorship of text messages containing words like 'Falun Gong' and 'Dalai Lama' was done in compliance with local law.

He said Tom Online, its joint venture partner in China, has 'implemented a text filter, which is what everyone else in that market is doing.'

China is a top 3 market for Skype along with the US and Germany in terms of active users of its free telephony service, which routes encrypted calls between computers via the internet.

virginie.mangin@xinhuafinance.com

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