Hong Kong ? You can find almost anything from crushed deer antlers and powdered cow placenta to novelty fridge magnets and light-up Santas on Alibaba.com.

But what you won’t find from Friday onward are products containing bear bile.

The company that runs the world’s largest online business-to-business e-commerce website announced Friday that bear bile products are now forbidden on the site, which has 50 million registered users worldwide.

The bile has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years and is believed to help break down gallstones, protect the liver and improve eyesight.

The ban is also to apply to cat and dog fur and meat and follows a similar ban in late 2009 on members advertising shark fin.

The announcement of the bear bile ban was made by Alibaba.com Ltd at its annual general meeting in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

A company representative said the firm thought the ban was the right thing to do.