Spam is one of the annoying effects of the cyber revolution. Anyone with an email account can recieve hundreds of messages a week marketing anything from a Rolex watch to penis enlargers to hardcore porn. Much of this comes from the US, so to combat the inbox invasion the All Party Parliamentary Internet Group (APIG) is flying out to Washington next month to discuss the problem. Their aim is to encourage the US to put national legislation in place.

Some, however, are sceptical about how effective the meeting will be. Steve Linford of Spamhaus, (a pioneering anti-spam project) said: “Not only are we still talking about these issues but we’re now doing so sat in the middle of an epidemic. This trip is a positive move, but I suspect they will go over there, see a couple of Senators and be told ‘yes, we’ll do something’ and it will end there.”

The UK anti-spam laws are less than effective than the Australian laws for example, and with very little power to prosecute criminals. Hopefully this could lead the way to worldwide anti-spam legislation.