As the death toll rises after China's worst earthquake in more than 30 years, aftershocks from the quake have even jolted the country's notoriously rigid state-run media. Whether this is the sign of a lasting shift, or an opportunistic flash-in-the-pan, the subject is being hotly debated by in the international press.

The Economist magazine contrasts China and Myanmar's responses to the disasters that have hit their countries this month.

"In contrast with neighbouring Myanmar's lethargic and secretive handling of its cyclone ten days earlier, China responded to the earthquake rapidly and with uncharacteristic openness," it says.

In the past, China's state-run media has been reticent to report bad news, but has now been rapidly updating casualty figures and running 24-hour reports. Foreign journalists have even been allowed into affected areas without hindrance, the Economist says.

This is all very different to previous disasters. When flooding along the Yangzi river killed thousands in 1998, officials barred foreign journalists from some areas and took two weeks to declare casualty figures.

"China's leaders are anxious to repair the public-relations damage they have suffered internationally as a result of the Tibet crisis. And they are keen to avoid the kind of criticism directed at Myanmar," the magazine suggests.

The unusual openness has allowed for critical voices to emerge, and even the Chinese media has said that shoddy construction may have exacerbated the quake's impact, the Economist writes.

The International Herald Tribune (IHT) agrees that unprecedented changes have taken place.

"Although it is still too early to know for sure, those who follow China's zigzag between reform and authoritarianism say the past few months are beginning to resemble a defining moment in what is shaping up to be a watershed year," the paper says

Officials have responded to a flood of online criticism by deciding to scale down the Olympic torch's relay through the quake-hit area of Sichuan, suggesting they are more responsive than ever to public criticism. Months of condemnation over the country's crackdown in Tibet seem to be having an impact on the ruling party, it says.

"My judgment is that the government has drawn some lessons from negative feedback," Shi Anbin, a professor of media studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing, told the Tribune. "I think it reflects a trend of Chinese openness and reform."

The Tribune also says there are domestic reasons for this changing approach. It looks as if the government has finally realised that openness and accountability can counter anger over corruption, rising inflation and disparity between the urban rich and the rural poor.

U.S. broadcaster CNN agrees that the new approach is down to Chinese officials seeing the domestic, as well as international, benefits of media transparency around the Sichuan quake. The disaster response is allowing leaders to mobilise the population around a common cause and has become a rallying point for the country, CNN says.

Radio Australia reports that new technologies have also contributed to the sea change.

"The internet and mobile phones have forced the government to be more open in terms of urgent events that are in the general public's interest," Xiaoning Mo, a Radio Australia reporter who has previously worked for China's state media, told the broadcaster.

But though their approach has definitely changed, the media are still not reporting "the whole story", according to Mo.

"The coverage has aroused the patriotism of the people, but it has been focusing on how swiftly the government is responding and how devastated the area is," she said. "But it is not, to my knowledge, looking at how dissatisfied many affected people are or carrying any of their complaints."

Canada's National Post newspaper, meanwhile, says that there has been a "seismic shift" in the operations of China's increasingly independent news media.

"Web sites have been flooded with homemade videos of the earthquake and its aftermath, and Internet chatrooms crackle with commentary, criticism and pleas for more information," the paper says.

Unable to control the flood of information, the country's censors have decided to embrace the opportunity to show the government acting quickly and effectively.

"That could change abruptly the moment there is a shift in the news that might damage the image of the Communist party. But for now, China is experiencing a brief breath of journalistic freedom," the Post concludes.

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