Xu Zhijun walked into a meeting room with the State Council staff in Beijing on Tuesday, and found his seat, along with nine others, marked by a nameplate printed with an"@" symbol.

Netizens who, like Xu, are active online watchers of the country's political life, were offered a chance to talk directly with people who work every day on national policies.

In an effort to boost communication with citizens and the transparency of government information in the Internet age, the government's website held its first offline interactive event with readers.