Web China: Netizens make wishes as end of Mayan calendar nears (5)

Shanghai police issued a public warning on Weibo.com after handling 25 cases relating to the apocalypse within 24 hours. The warning says, "The end of the world is pure rumor, do not believe it."

As paranoia intensifies, institutions including the Beijing Planetarium and the Astronomical Society of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have refuted the rumor through media, sending the message "December 21 is just a normal day."

Xia Xueluan, professor of sociology at Peking University, said the paranoia reflects social desire for entertainment.

"We've lived through several so-called doomsdays in the past decade, such as those predicted by Nostradamus and around the Millennium. People take satisfaction in talking about them," according to the professor.

Xia added that the panic may also reflect the insecurity people feel toward the future.

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