A MASS mobilisation of Chinese in support of their country is unfolding in cyberspace.

An online appeal for donations of the national flag to be despatched overseas has collected more than 17,000 pieces so far. T-shirts proclaiming Chinese sovereignty over Tibet and denouncing the West are churned out for sale.

A campaign condemning China-bashing CNN commentator Jack Cafferty has collected 280,000 signatures.

The flag-collection campaign was initiated last week by major Chinese Internet portals Sohu.com and Sina.com.

"We received 13,000 national flags since last Friday, when the appeal was made online," Mr Jiang Ziniu, spokesman for Sohu, was quoted as saying on Tuesday by China Daily. Sina announced on its website it had received 6,183 flags, as well as 120,000 yuan (S$23,225) to purchase more flags.

The red, five-starred flags were being sent to countries through which the troubled Olympic torch had passed and would be travelling. They include the United States, Britain, France, Thailand, Australia, South Korea and Japan.

One hundred flags have also been sent to Singapore, Sina said, where a small group of Chinese expatriates had travelled to Kuala Lumpur to support the torch relay on Monday.

Protests aimed primarily at China's crackdown on unrest in Tibet have dogged the torch relay from its beginning last month in Greece, with demonstrations disrupting it or forcing route changes in London, Paris, San Francisco and other cities.

It raised the ire of the Chinese, culminating in widespread nationalistic protests last weekend in the country as well as in the US and Europe.

The flag-donation drive was started in reaction to reports about a shortage of Chinese national flags overseas.

Besides collecting flags, Sina.com has launched a signature-collection drive to highlight Chinese anger with CNN, which has been a prime Western target following Mr Cafferty's recent infamous outburst in which he called Chinese leaders "goons and thugs".

"In the face of such deliberate attack and arrogant contempt, we doubt CNN will be able to report on the Beijing Olympics objectively," Sina said.

"If you feel the same way, please sign your name," it adds. As of yesterday, 280,000 netizens had done so.

The upsurge in nationalist zeal has spilled over to commerce too.

Enterprising entrepreneurs are cashing in by selling T-shirts proclaiming Chinese sovereignty over Tibet and denouncing the CNN.

"SHUT UP!", the front of one T-shirt design sold on the popular retail website Taobao.com declares, above a struck-out "CNN" logo.

"Tibet WAS, IS and ALWAYS will be a party of China!" declares another T-shirt.