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Culture secretary Andy Burnham told the Financial Times that the government is serious about reducing the amount of copyright material that is traded over P2P networks.

"Let me make it absolutely clear: this is a change of tone from the government," he said. "It's definitely serious legislative intent."

But he denied reports that the government is to propose a "three strikes and you're out" approach

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that would give alleged file sharers two warnings before their accounts would be terminated. Instead the government will set out its objectives and begin consulting on legislation in the spring.

Burnham said that while he recognises there are legitimate privacy concerns, he is confident that these will not be insurmountable. But as with every proposal to date, the government has steered clear of explaining how it intends to both safely identify file sharers or shared material, without accusing innocent internet users or blocking legitimate traffic.

ISPs are insistent that any attempt to identify P2P traffic would be an invasion of internet users' privacy and simply impractical, given the amount of data that passes across their networks.

And while ISPs have said they want to work with the music industry in particular, relations between them appear to be at an all-time low after a public falling out between Tiscali and the BPI over who should pick up the tab for tracking down purported pirates.