Dhaka  - Bangladesh is planning stringent measures to fight cyber crimes amid the rapid expansion of information and communication technology and telecommunications networks in the impoverished South Asian country, an official said Monday.

"We have taken steps afresh to facilitate fair and secured use of the information technology as the country lacks a complete law to deal with cyber crimes," MM Neazuddin, a joint secretary to the science and ICT ministry, told the German Press Agency dpa.

He said that the government, which has pledged a "Digital Bangladesh" by the year 2021, had approved in principle to amend previous legislation calling for jail terms and heavy financial penalties to tackle new forms of crime.

The proposed law has suggested provisions for a maximum 10 years in jail and taka 10 million (150, 000 US dollars) in fines for hacking into computer networks and putting false and libellous information or indecent materials online.

For the speedy and effective prosecution of the offences, the government will set up one or more tribunals, to be called the Cyber Tribunals under the law.

Bangladesh's ICT industry has been expanding at exponential rates and is making its presence strongly felt both in the public and private sectors. Over 5 million personal computers are now in use in the country with three million internet users, by industry estimates.

Despite the sector's rapid growth, a law drafted in 2006 outlining crimes and penalties, remained ineffective, a ministry official said. (dpa)