Fake Apple store in Kunming, Yunnan province, China

KUNMING, China — Chinese officials in Kunming have ordered two fake Apple shops to close, not because of piracy or copyright concerns, but because the stores in the southwestern city did not have an official business permit.

Five self-branded "Apple Stores" were found to be selling Apple products without authorisation from the California-based company but only two were told to shut, officials said.

An investigation into the stores was apparently sparked by a storm of media attention over an elaborate hoax Apple shop discovered by an American blogger. The order did not apply to that store, which is applying for a reseller licence with Apple, a local government spokesman said.

fake Apple store in Kunming, Yunnan province July 21, 2011

 picture shows a fake iPhone 3GS charging next to an Apple logo on a Macbook Air laptop in Beijing July 22, 2011

 picture shows a real iPhone 3GS (L) alongside a fake model, in Beijing July 22, 2011

An employee and a customer are seen from the exterior of a fake Apple Store in Kunming, Yunnan province