Yahoo, MSN and a number of Chinese blog service providers signed the so-called "self-discipline" pact at the end of last week. The pact does not force, but rather "encourages" Internet companies to register and store the real names, addresses and other details of their users. Beijing had earlier tried to implement legislation that would have made such registration mandatory, but the plan met with strong resistance from both Internet companies and the public. Vincent Brossel of the press freedom group Reporters without Borders says the more cautious wording of the agreement will not protect Chinese bloggers. In 2005, Yahoo's China operations were taken over by Alibaba.com