Western governments and rights groups have lined up in support of Ai, an avant-garde artist who has become known as much for his work as for his activism, which frequently takes aim at China's ruling Communist Party.

The Xinhua news agency said in a one-paragraph dispatch that police were investigating Ai -- who was detained Sunday at Beijing's international airport while trying to board a flight to Hong Kong -- "in accordance with the law".

Beijing police refused to comment on the case when contacted on Thursday by AFP.

Ai's wife Lu Qing told AFP that she still had no official confirmation from police about the investigation, and that she also had no news about where her husband was being detained.

"I am waiting for news," an emotional Lu said in a halting voice. "I so far have no information from the authorities about the fate of Ai Weiwei."

Lu added that the story about the investigation was apparently removed from Xinhua's Chinese-language feed after about an hour.

Ai's attorney Liu Xiaoyuan said he had spoken with the family about possibly defending the artist in this case, but that nothing had been decided.

"Right now it is hard to say what is going on," Liu told AFP.

Police have raided the Beijing studio of the 53-year-old artist -- a burly man with a distinctive wispy beard whose work is currently on display in London's Tate Modern gallery.

The son of a poet revered by China's early Communist leaders, Ai helped design the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium for the 2008 Beijing Games, but has since become a thorn in the government's side.

He has investigated accusations that shoddy construction caused school collapses in a huge 2008 earthquake in southwestern China, and launched a "citizen's" probe into a Shanghai fire that killed 58 people in November 2010.

At the 2009 trial in Sichuan of another activist, Ai said he was detained and savagely beaten by police who blocked him from testifying on behalf of the accused.

In January, his newly built Shanghai studio was demolished in apparent retaliation for his criticism of city policies.

A month later, he said his first large solo exhibit in mainland China was cancelled over political sensitivities.

The United States, France, Germany and Britain have joined Amnesty International and other groups in calling for the release of Ai, but a state newspaper with links to the ruling party on Wednesday slammed those appeals.

"Ai Weiwei probably understands that on many occasions he has come close to the red line of Chinese law and it is possible that he likes this feeling," the Global Times said, adding Ai's activities were "ambiguous in law".

"As long as Ai Weiwei continues to forge ahead, it is likely he will cross the line."

The newspaper again commented on the case Thursday, saying the "restriction on the challenging behaviours of people" like Ai was more important that allowing him to speak freely.

Authorities have launched a huge clampdown on dissent following online calls for people to gather each Sunday around China in peaceful "Jasmine" protests, aimed at emulating the unrest rocking the Arab world.

No protests have been reported, but scores of dissidents, activists and rights lawyers have been rounded up in recent weeks.

Ai's mother, Gao Ying, said she believed her son was the victim of trumped-up accusations.

"I don't think this is the reason they have taken him away... Ai Weiwei is not a criminal, he is an artist who is in search of justice," Gao told AFP.

"What has happened is not right. He must have his voice, his work, it is not right that they take him away like this and accuse him of being a criminal. He must be treated fairly. He has the right to voice his views."

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