Lin, 30, who ran his own software company until his detention on March 25, faces a lengthy prison sentence if convicted. He allegedly used other people's Internet domains and the nickname `Black Eyes' to covertly share some 30,000 mainland residents' E-mail addresses with `anti-China' magazines abroad from September 1997 onward.

The publications, including the US on-line magazine VIP Reference (Dacankao), then used the address list to distribute politically taboo articles within the country. Faced with the state's increasing inability to control movements of political information via the Internet, Chinese prosecutors appear readyto make an example of Lin.

The New York-based watchdog group Human Rights in China issued a statement strongly condemning Lin's prosecution and calling for his immediate and unconditional release. ``We believe Lin Hai's detention is arbitrary,'' it said, adding that China's signing of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in October has been shown to be `an empty gesture'.

The covenant -- which China has yet to ratify -- guarantees freedom of expression.

In an open letter to the court, Lin's wife Xu Hong earlier protested the decision to hold her husband's trial behind closed doors, saying there was no legal basis without involvement of state secrets.

``I will have to wait outside the courtroom for the result,'' said Xu, who has been denied all visits since Lin's detention eight months ago. The decision defies reforms announced by Supreme People's Court President Xiao Yang aimed at opening up China's courts to the public and the media.

Already this week Beijing has had tofend off growing international criticism over its recent detention of six dissidents connected with the banned Opposition China Democracy Party.

``China has all along attached great importance to international human rights covenants,'' foreign ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao told a news conference. ``As for some people who are suspected of involvement in activities endangering state security and who are under investigation by the police, this has nothing to do with the signing by China of these international covenants,'' he said.

Chinese authorities detained six dissidents linked to the Opposition party, including prominent government critics Xu Wenli and Qin Yongmin. Two have since been released, but Xu, 54, and Qin, 44, are still being held.The crackdown sparked strong criticism from the US and Canadian governments, overseas rights groups and dissidents across China. The US said it ``deplored'' the detentions, calling them ``a serious step in the wrong direction''.