Australia has declared war on spam. Laws aimed at protecting internet users from the torrents of unsolicited junk mail that make up nearly half the world's email traffic will be introduced in Federal Parliament "as soon as possible," according to Minister for Communications and Information Technology Richard Alston.

The Government intends to ban unsolicited messages and impose stiff fines on offenders within its reach - both spammers and vendors using their services.

Under an "opt-in" system, no commercial emails may be sent without the prior consent of the addressee or without a prior business connection between sender and recipient.