A new database designed to catch paedophiles across the globe is expected to get the go-ahead at a summit of G8 interior ministers, the Sky News reported on Thursday.

Justice and home affairs ministers from the top eight industrial countries in the world are likely to agree to build a system which will automatically scan the faces of adults who have sex with children.

Pictures of abuse seized by police will also be electronically scanned to identify victims. The computer system will bring together police paedophile archives from all the G8 nations, which comprises Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the United States, Canada, Japan and Russia.

British police's own database already holds 800,000 images and has allowed officers to identify - although not necessarily name - 3,000 victims.

British Home Secretary Charles Clarke is hoping to win approval for the new system during the meeting in Sheffield, northern England.

G8 interior ministers decided in 2003 to set up a database to store images of offenders and victims found on the web and computers. Images will be shared across borders by police forces making identification of offenders and victims easier.

Clarke said, "the G8 two years ago commissioned a report on how we could do this with new technology and how we can work together well."

"We will have a far more powerful tool than we have previously had," he added.

Source: Xinhua