Berlin - Germany's lower house of parliament on Wednesday passed a controversial law granting sweeping powers to federal police in the fight against terrorism.

The legislation, which has to be approved by the upper house, allows investigators to conduct video surveillance of terrorist suspects and monitor their private computers.

"We are responding to new technical developments while at the same time adhering to our basic tenets of freedom," Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told deputies.

German civil liberties groups have criticized the new law, saying it will lead to a Big Brother state where the privacy of Germans' homes is no longer sacrosanct.

In the past, the 5,500-strong federal police force had limited its surveillance activities to the fight against crime, in cooperation with Germany's 16 regional police forces.

Under the new legislature, federal police will no longer have to do the bidding of the state police forces in preventive anti-terrorism measures, but will be able to mount nationwide investigations of their own before terrorists strike.

Original plans to tamper physically with suspects' computers were dropped in favour of remotely installing viruses to obtain information.

Approval of a judge has to be obtained before such action can be taken to ensure that privacy rules are violated as little as possible.

Germany has escaped major terrorist attacks like the 204 Madrid train bombings which killed 191 persons or the London transport attacks of 2005 in which 52 commuters died.

An attempt in 2006 to blow up two German trains with suitcase bombs was thwarted when the devices failed to go off because of a technical flaw.

One Lebanese man was convicted of the crime and sentenced to 12 years in prison by a court in Beirut. Another is currently standing trial in Germany. (dpa)