The government is to work with law enforcement agencies and industry to produce its first strategy on tackling e-crime.

The Home Office said that new communication technologies offer massive benefits but at the same time present new opportunities for criminals.

Junior Home Office minister Caroline Flint said the government e-crime strategy would focus on old crimes that use new technology - such as fraud and paedophilia - as well as new problems such as denial of service attacks and hacking.

The strategy will analyse the current and future nature of e-crime, to provide a framework for government, law enforcement agencies and industry, and will make sure that existing international agreements, such as the European Union (EU) Framework Decision on Attacks Against Information Systems, meet the new challenges of e-crime.

Speaking ahead of the event, Flint said: "Police and government need to be equally flexible and not just respond to this rapidly changing environment but keep one step ahead of the criminals.

"We want to create a safe and secure digital environment, where e-commerce flourishes and we can all enjoy the enormous benefits of working with information systems and networks."

Flint said the government needs to do more to coordinate and focus its efforts. "Our e-crime strategy will bring together industry and law enforcement agencies to deliver an enhanced and robust response to the prevention, detection and prosecution of e-crime."

The government is committed to producing an e-crime strategy to coordinate its response to e-crime by February 2004.

It signed up to the EU's Framework Decision on Attacks Against Information Systems in February 2003.

While the UK's Computer Misuse Act 1990 already covers many elements of the Framework Decision, the government has said amendments to existing legislation will be put forward as soon as Parliamentary time allows.