MySpace has banned convicted sex offenders from its US site and handed over their details to the authorities. 

The social networking site decided to block sex offenders from using MySpace and potentially talking with children after pressure from several US attorneys general.

MySpace has removed the accounts of around 7,000 suspected sex offenders, releasing their names and details.

Law enforcement officials have said they will use the information to check whether any convicted offenders have violated the terms of their release.

Earlier this month, attorneys general from eight US states requested MySpace to hand over any information it had about sex offenders using its site.

MySpace had already hired Sentinel Tech Holdings to trawl its membership of around 180 million users, looking for registered sex offenders and deleting their profiles.

The company initially refused to hand over the details, citing Federal privacy laws, but backed down after threatened legal action and the issuing of subpoenas demanding the information.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, one of the eight, said: "I believe it is critical to receive this information to assess any threats by sexual predators to Idaho's children.

"I am concerned that sex offenders may still be using the MySpace site and will try to avoid detection by using an alias and misrepresenting their age."