The US has confronted China strongly on the alleged “internet attacks” and censorship of Google's network in China.

Phillip J. Crowley, Spokesman for the State Department, said on Friday, "We have had multiple conversations with Chinese officials on this issue, and that included a direct conversation between Secretary (Hillary) Clinton and Foreign Minister Yang (Jiechi) in London late last month”.

"So I think we have satisfied ourselves that the Chinese understand the importance with which we view this issue", he said.

Previously reported by the New York Times, US computer security experts traced some of the attacks to computers at the Shanghai Jiaotong University, which boasts one of China’s most competitive computer science programs, and the Lanxiang Vocational School in Shandong Province.

Both institutions have stated that they did not know the US investigation had implicated their systems. One of the institutes is believed to have ties to the Chinese military while the other has in the past been linked to the successful hacking and disabling of the White House website.

The investigation into the alleged scandal, led by the US National Security Agency, pointed initially to servers in Taiwan.