Britain agrees plan to tackle online music piracy

Under the deal drawn up by the government, Virgin Media, BSkyB, Carphone Warehouse, BT, Orange and Tiscali have agreed to work towards a "significant reduction" in the illegal sharing of content.

They will send letters to prolific illegal downloaders each week under a three-month trial, warning them that they are being monitored.

The ISPs and rights holders will then work together with the media regulator Ofcom to come up with a Code of Practice on how to act if this does not work.

Options could include a three-strikes-and-you're-out warning, traffic shaping to slow access for those who are either illegally uploading or downloading, or filtering to prevent illegal tracks from being downloaded.

The content industries will also work to educate consumers about illegal downloading and further develop a range of legal services in addition to their previous approach of suing those who engaged in illegally downloading files.

"The UK agreement is a big step towards reaching a solution to online piracy, and it shows that the process of engaging ISPs that was set in motion in France last year is gathering real momentum internationally," said John Kennedy, the head of the IFPI body which oversees the music industry.

The UK Film Council also welcomed the announcement as a significant first step.

Music companies have been trying desperately to boost digital sales in recent years following the growth of Internet piracy which has cut into CD sales.

A host of downloading services have developed on the Internet in recent years, with the most successful being Apple's iTunes with over 70 percent of the digital music market. But the government has said it would still like to see more choice.