According to this photographed document posted by a Chinese blogger on Twitter, Sony looks to be one of the first manufacturers to ship PCs with China's controversial software.

Entitled Green Dam Youth Escort, the program is to serve as a tool for parents to help filter out violent content, pornography and other questionable content from children. However, what makes this software so controversial is the fact that China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) now requires all PC manufacturers to pre-install the mandated software on new machines by July 1.

A translation of the Sony document reveals that Green Dam doesn't support a 64-bit operating system, thus machines with a 64-bit OS will not have Green Dam pre-installed. The document also states that Green Dam is provided in accordance with government requirements, and that Sony cannot guarantee the software on any level, whether legally, authentically, and so on. Sony also doesn't assume responsibility for loss or harm incurred by the mandated software, leaving the responsibility in the hands of the owner.

While Sony complies with the Chinese government, an international group of 22 business associations--comprised mostly of the world's major technology companies--sent a letter on Friday directly to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, asking that the country back down from its requirement to pre-install Green Dam. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Saturday, the letter addresses concerns, and "seems to run counter to China's important goal of becoming a vibrant and dynamic information-based society."

"The Green Dam mandate raises significant questions of security, privacy, system reliability, the free flow of information and user choice," the note states. The letter reflects current views on the Green Dam software, with many believing that the pornography filter is nothing more than a smokescreen to hide the program's real function: to gain access to personal information and have the ability to monitor Internet use. Although Green Dam is mandatory, China said that the software can be uninstalled by the end-user; one of the software's creators even backed up that claim, revealing that it can be turned off or deleted altogether.

Given China's new policy against incoming pornographic and other lewd material, it's probably a given that it's only intention with Green Dam Youth Escort is to keep the questionable content from young children. It may even be possible that the software has filters built-in to block out Google and many of its variants, fighting its battle on a software front rather than continuing its battle with the search engine giant.

Along with Sony, Taiwanese computer maker Acer has signed on to comply with China's policy, and will pre-install Green Dam Youth Escort with its PCs as well, but will also feature an option to turn the software on and off.