David Ben Kay, managing partner of Denton Wilde Sapte, a Beijing technology consulting firm, said that the government understands the money-making potential of the Internet, as well as its power and reach.

"The (governing) party has this great intent of controlling information; the idea of opening their doors to information is a far greater threat to their political system than their legal system," said Kay, a former lawyer.

However, savvy surfers in China can easily bypass the firewalls that the government has placed against blacklisted content sites such as NYTimes.com and CNN com," Kay said. "This is why they are looking at Singapore ... which has the same nervousness about content, yet one of their priorities is to get everyone online."

Kay has worked with online publishers on tweaking their content by wording things differently, or toning it down to make it acceptable in China.

Earnshaw's book also discusses how to weave through the red tape and the art of guanxi (attaining something through personal connections) that is still part of the business game in China.

The book is unique in that it uses a fictional character -- Jefferson Wong -- to provide fundamental information and lessons about the ups and downs and pitfalls of starting a dot-com in China. "This way we could be more direct and critical," Earnshaw said.

Wong is a native of Shanghai who is returning home after being educated overseas. He works with his uncle Lao Zhang, who is the head of the Number 2 Mao Memorabilia Factory. Uncle Zhang is a wily character who doesn't know how to log on, but wants to make a fortune.

Other cast members include Stone Daw, a venture capitalist from Texas; Silicon Hu, a Chinese-American VC from the West Coast; the Shark Fin, an alias for a group of super hackers; and Suzanne Lu, a Shanghai lawyer who is also Jefferson's love interest.

The Maoportal.com business that Wong starts ultimately flops because of fraud and hackers, but the book ends on an up note. Maoportal sees a rebirth as a domestic enterprise that merges with another company.

Earnshaw admits "it would even have been better if the book came out six months ago. We would have been talking more about the life than the death."

China has seen more than its share of dot-com deaths, mainly companies started by three or four young business school graduates, he said.

"I spoke with one MBA at Fudan University who said he wouldn't want to accept any investment under $500,000."