E-mail providers sue spammers

US e-mail providers EarthLink, Microsoft, Yahoo and America Online have sued hundreds of online markets under a new federal law that outlaws the worst kinds of spam, Reuters reports.

The suits claim that the defendants obscured their identities and used other deceptive tactics to send out hundreds of millions of pitches for get-rich-quick schemes, pornography and other types of spam.

The lawsuits filed on Tuesday night invoke an array of federal and state laws, from trespass to trademark and organised crime statutes.

British singer George Michael says he is retiring from the music business and will put all his future songs on the Internet for free, reports AFP.

The singer told BBC radio that he would never make another album for sale in record shops because he did not need the money and wanted to be less famous.

"I`ve been very well remunerated for my talents over the years so I really don`t need the public`s money," Michael said.

The Internet has played a significant role in the increase in cases of syphilis among gay men by introducing partners more likely to practise high-risk sex, says the Los Angeles Health Department.

Reuters reports that 22% of homosexual men diagnosed with early-stage syphilis reported meeting one or more of their sexual partners through the Internet around the time they were infected.

The Los Angeles research found that men who went online to find sex partners were more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviour than those who found partners elsewhere.