A senior Chinese Internet official on Wednesday called on major websites to become a force to "spread positive energy" and play a leading role in guiding public opinion, which, according to experts, showed the resolution of Chinese government to build an orderly cyber space.

"News portals and big commercial websites should play an exemplary role in strengthening management, develop healthy trends, pool positive energy and contribute to the Chinese dream," Lu Wei, minister of the State Internet Information Office, said Wednesday during an online media forum in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province.

Improving laws that regulate Internet use, cracking down on online crimes and building a safe online environment by strengthening Internet security are among the main goals, Lu said.

"To realize the goal, cyberspace should be built for the people, ruled by law, civilized and safe," he added.

The senior official said he looked to the Internet to serve as an "important bridge" that links the Communist Party of China and the government to the people.

His comments came within days of the detention of "Big Vs" - popular microbloggers on Sina Weibo or Tencent Weibo - in a crackdown campaign on online rumors that started in August.

In September, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate made online defamation a "serious" offense if such a post is read 5,000 times or circulated over 500 times.

Lu's remarks, analysts said, showed the Chinese government's resolve to build an "orderly cyberspace."

"Lu's words are crucial in making people believe in the Internet," Fang Binxing, former president of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, told the Global Times. "The Internet should be managed in the right mode, otherwise it will be in a mess and no one will believe each others' words."

Fang's opinion was echoed by Wang Sixin, a law professor with the Communication University of China, who told the Global Times that the Chinese government always plays an "active role in maintaining order in cyberspace."

Zhang Zhi'an, an associate professor at the School of Communication and Design at Sun Yat-sen University, spoke similarly. "Spreading positive energy could ensure healthy development of the Internet," Zhang told the Global Times Wednesday.

In August, the government and many Web celebrities had reached a consensus, also known as the "seven bottom lines," in which they agreed that influential microbloggers should abide by the law and protect national interests and social order, and uphold socialist ideals and morals. 

Xinhua contributed to this story