News 

BT, Sky, Carphone Warehouse, Orange and Tiscali have all agreed to trial the scheme, instructed by the British government, for three months. The plan will involve notifying prolific downloaders that their actions are being monitored.

Although the ISPs have not committed to disconnecting persistent offenders, they have agreed to speak with Ofcom to devise a Code of Conduct if the project is unsuccessful. One of the options thought to be considered is a three-strikes proposal, which would see users being disconnected upon receiving a third warning letter.

"This is an intelligent approach to tackling unlawful file-sharing by industry and ISPs," said UK business secretary John Hutton. "It tells consumers what they can do, rather than just what they can't."

The ISPs agreed to the deal after the UK government warned it would impose legislation if they continued to refuse to work with music and movie industries to curb illegal filesharing.

An estimated six million Brits are engaged in file-sharing each year. The government's move follows a similar scheme introduced in France, where persistent illegal downloaders are disconnected.