BEIJING (AP)  Beijing couples intent on stealing a kiss in public are being warned they could be caught on closed-circuit television — and suspected of committing a crime, a state news agency reported Wednesday.

Xinhua News Agency said "intimate acts of lovers may be initially categorized as 'kidnapping' or 'robbery' by the computers, which are programmed to be sensitive to violations of safe distances."

But police officers monitoring the cameras will decide if the situation really is dangerous.

But there will be some warning for amorous couples, Xinhua said. Signs will go up next month in areas covered by the cameras, saying in Chinese and English "you are entering a camera-monitored zone."

Public displays of affection, and more, are common for young urban Chinese couples, who often have nowhere else to go because they share small apartments with their parents.

Closed-circuit cameras are becoming more common in Beijing, and Xinhua said that before next year's Summer Olympics the city plans to unify the monitoring of the cameras. There are currently networks monitored separately by the police, and transport, public utilities and maintenance departments.

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