China's leading online payment service Alipay said on Monday that it will scrutinize its recently launched social networking features, after accusations surfaced on Chinese social media that it is laden with sexually explicit photos.

Alipay issued an official statement on Monday claiming that the new feature is still in testing stage and vowed to timely carry out action to cope with malicious information's through the help of its strong big-data management capacity.

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The statement further said: "As an open platform, Alipay's social networking feature hopes to facilitate interaction and communication among its users while creating values for our partners in the field."   

The new social media features constitute of online discussion forums, which were launched on its application last weekend. The forums reportedly targeted female students and white-collared women. It allowed strangers to interact with each other and share things that they found common between them.

But what proved to be controversial were erotic photos accompanying sexual comments posted on forum discussion. The sexual comments were allegedly aimed at attracting tips from male followers.

The sexual explicit photos and comments posted on Alipay's app immediately sparked controversy across Chinese social media.

Many commented that the popular online payment system is following the footsteps of Momo - a popular Chinese dating application. Other people went overboard, claiming that the service has become a place for hookers.

Alipay does not need any introduction in China, given that it is the number one online payment service provider in the country. Alipay's popularity can be gauged from the fact that its application is the third most popular in China, after WeChat and QQ.          

TagsAlipay, Alipay App, china, Alipay Payment Services