The Roman Catholic Church has given network managers a Papal blessing to crack down on people who clog systems with ribald and libidinous e-mails.

Famiglia Cristiana, a magazine close to the Vatican, has ruled that e-mails of a carnal nature and illicit online relationships are a sin.

The magazine added that cyber adultery is as bad as the real thing and should be rooted out wherever it is found.

Editor Reverend Antino Sciortino said: "Virtual reality can be just as much a vice as a reality made up of facts and actions."

The move has received a cautious thumbs up from network managers.

"It's nice to have the moral support. We have been trying to free our systems from personal and salacious e-mail for some time," said Wayne Charlton, senior product specialist, for ABN Amro. "But I certainly didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition."