Berlin - The German government approved a law Wednesday blocking access to child pornography on the internet.

If the law now gets parliamentary approval, German federal police will compile daily surveys of child pornography on the internet and pass them on to internet providers
-who will then block access to the sites.

The move brings Germany into line with similar initiatives in Britain, Italy and Scandinavia.

The ban would cover all internet providers with at least 10,000 subscribers - which comprises 97 per cent of the market. It would further enable offenders to be legally pursued.

German Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg described Wednesday's decision as "an important, a decisive signal," in the government's strategy to "protect children and dry out the child pornography market."

The legislation recognises however that the ban cannot completely prevent access to indecent sites, as the blocks can be circumnavigated by internet savvy users.

"Under the current state of technology ... access to child pornographic content cannot be completely prevented, despite providers' blocking measures," the document states.

The draft law also includes the option for internet providers to pass on details of people attempting to access blocked sites.

This move has been criticised by the data protection lobby for potentially turning "thousands of completely innocent people into suspects," as Schleswig-Holstein's state data protection officer Thilo Weichert said. Users could become liable by unknowingly attempting to access a blocked site.

Last week, five German internet service providers agreed to obstruct access to sexual images of children.

At the time, officials said Germany was falling into line with Britain, the United States, South Korea, the Scandinavian nations and others which already routinely block access to child-sex websites. (dpa)