By Eva Dou 

BEIJING--China's government will set up cybersecurity police units at major Internet companies, in Beijing's latest move to tighten control over the country's online forums.

China's Ministry of Public Security will set up the units at key websites and Internet companies to help them prevent crimes such as fraud and "spreading of rumors," China's official Xinhua news service said late Tuesday.

China's Ministry of Public Security didn't say which companies will have the new police units. China's Internet sector is dominated by three companies: e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., gaming and messaging company Tencent Holdings Ltd. and search-engine provider Baidu Inc.

An Alibaba spokesman said the company works with Chinese authorities to combat illegal activities online. "It is our priority to maintain the reliability and security of our platforms to protect our customers," he said.

Tencent, Baidu and the ministry didn't respond immediately to requests for comment Wednesday. It wasn't immediately clear whether the cyberpolice units would apply to international, as well as domestic, tech firms operating in China.

The physical police units at Web companies are part of Beijing's broader efforts to exert greater control over China's Internet. China tightened regulation of social networks earlier this year, banning usernames that could harm national security or promote illegal services. The country has long required Web companies to delete accounts that it believes are spreading rumors, criticizing the Chinese Communist Party or disseminating pornography or other illegal content.

The measure also comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and China over cybersecurity. U.S. officials believe a recent cyber break-in at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management--which resulted in the theft of millions of personnel records and the likely loss of sensitive security-clearance information--came from China, though Obama administration officials haven't publicly accused Beijing of being behind the attack. China says it is a victim and not a perpetrator of hacking.

China's lawmakers are also now reviewing a broad-sweeping draft cybersecurity law that will expand the government's powers in this area. The country's officials have made passage of the law a priority this year. Beijing has ratcheted up its cybersecurity measures after former U.S. security contractor Edward Snowden said U.S. intelligence agencies were using tech companies to spy on foreign governments.

Write to Eva Dou at eva.dou@wsj.com

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