The nation's third-largest online game operator NetEase.com suspended new user registrations for World of Warcraft (WoW) in China, the company said in a statement on its website yesterday.

A customer picks up the Chinese version of the WoW game at a shop in Chongqing.

China's publishing regulator, the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), yesterday accepted NetEase's reapplication for a license to operate the popular game and indicated it would begin processing the request.

The move may signal an end to a regulatory turf war over the country's lucrative, online game market, according to experts. NetEase officials were not available for comment yesterday.

It was the company's first move after being caught in a turf war between GAPP and the Ministry of Culture last November.

GAPP rejected the company's previous application due to "gross violations" of regulations and ordered it to stop charging users to play the game.

But the ministry said that NASDAQ-listed NetEase had completed the necessary paperwork and the content of its game was legitimate.

It insisted that GAPP should not have gotten involved nor stepped in and blocked the game.

NetEase has continued to operate the game as usual saying it is in compliance with local laws and regulations.

"GAPP's acceptance of NetEase's application may be a signal that the two Chinese regulators have finally reached a deal over their respective territories," said Edward Yu, president of domestic IT research firm Analysys International.

He said the possibility of GAPP shutting down the popular online game is waning.

WoW is the world's most popular multiplayer online, role-playing game and has about 12 million subscribers worldwide. According to Beijing-based research firm iResearch, China had over 80 million online gamers last year.

The ministry and GAPP have long been involved in an inter-government feud over who is charged with regulation of online game space - with NetEase caught in the middle.

Both bodies have sought to gain the upper hand in overseeing China's lucrative online game business, which generated 25.6 billion yuan in 2009, a year-on-year increase of 39.4 percent.

Last July, the State Council declared the ministry was in charge of the online gaming industry, which had been previously overseen by GAPP.

But GAPP insisted that online games are a type of publication, which is within its portfolio.

The feud came to a climax last November when NetEase was ordered by GAPP to shut down WoW and the ministry criticized GAPP over the move.

NetEase's revenues for online gaming reached 1.25 billion yuan last quarter, with over 28 percent of that amount coming from WoW, according to Analysys International.

The company won a license to operate WoW in China from its rival The9 Ltd last April, and the game was relaunched in July after being halted for more than a month.