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The new site, called A-Space, will be available for sign-up to any employee of the US's 16 security agencies, allowing them to share stories, swap notes and generally do all those things that spies traditionally don't.

Members will join on a voluntary basis and will receive emails keeping them abreast of the current issues they might like to discuss.

The CIA is hoping that the site will help foster better relationships between the agencies, citing 9/11 as an example of how a lack of communication can have disastrous consequences.

Speaking to the FT, Mike Wertheimer of the US's Department for National Intelligence noted the difficulties with inter-agency communication. "I am unable to send email, and even make secure phone calls, to a good portion of the community from my desktop because of firewalls," he says.

Intriguingly he went on to note that the offer to collaborate on the site had been extended to agencies in other countries, but had been met with a widely negative response.