Anyone up for a game of strip mahjong?

Via p2pnet.net (and also seen on chinatechnews.com and Pacific Epoch) we learn that the Ministry of Culture has banned four video games: Blood Rayne II, Obscure, AV Mahjong and Kong Bu Lao Long (Horrible Cage).

Some aren't surprising. Blood Rayne II (despite being "completely bereft of Nazi zombies") and Obscure ("inspired by the teen horror genre") were singled out for violence. (We assume Counter Strike and WarCraft fall under the category of "good" violence.)

And according to this review Kong Bu Lao Long (恐怖牢笼 or Horrible Cage) might have gotten yanked just because it was boring or "too hard to bear." Another writeup says it's an FPS (first-person shooter) game which "takes place after an earth quake. The lead character Yi-Ling tries to escape after the initial shock, but was knocked unscious by a wall mounted clock. She woke up in a dungeon" -- or "horrible cage" -- "and the story begins as she tries to escape ..." The usual.

But AV Mahjong? What could possibly be wrong with a game that helps keep an old Chinese tradition alive by packaging it in a way China's digital generation can stomach? Here's how China Wireless Arts, makers of AV Mahjong (also known as AV Mah Jong) describe their version of the classic game enjoyed by elderly Chinese every day in parks thoughout the country:

Play Mah Jong with beauties on your mobile phone! You will encounter three hot girls as your opponents. If you win them, you will see something amazing!Everybody knows Mah Jong, but have you ever tried play it on your mobile phone? And play with three beauties? Do you want to conquer them? Don't be hesitate to win them and they will show you something hottest!

So that's why those old guys in the neighborhood always play mahjong in their underwear.