China has shut down several fake Apple stores found in Kunming city. Three of the stores, which mimicked the look of real Apple shops, were exposed to the world on a blog called BirdAbroad.

Following the publicity, trade officials investigated and found five stores in Kunming posing as official Apple retail outlets. Two of the five have now been closed.

The BirdAbroad blog, written by an American woman living in Kunming, wrote about a visit to one fake Apple store which superficially resembled the official outlets. She wrote about conversations with staff, many of whom were convinced they worked for the US electronics firm.

Chinese officials investigated the shop visited by BirdAbroad but it was not one of those closed down. It has a licence to trade and is selling genuine Apple products.

Apple has said it has no comment to make on the discovery of the counterfeit shops.

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