The UK government’s e-commerce minister, Stephen Timms, has admitted that new legislation alone will not be enough to curb the tide of SPAM (junk e-mail).

Lawmakers in Europe, the U.S. and Australia are in the process of drafting laws that would criminalise the delivery of unwanted bulk e-mails.

But officials warn that without international cooperation, spammers will continue to send mass e-mails, including spurious appeals for cash and offers ranging from university diplomas to pornography, septic tanks and low-interest mortgages.

"Spam is not just a UK or European problem," said UK E-commerce Minister Stephen Timms in making the opening address at a summit on spam on Tuesday.

"Most spam comes from outside. A lot of it comes from the U.S. Hopefully, it's possible for us to come up with an EU-US solution from our discussions today," he said.

Lawmakers, consumer advocates and Internet industry officials gathered for the latest in a string of many scheduled discussions on harmonising international laws to cut back on spam, which now accounts for nearly half of all global e-mail circulating across the Internet.

Spam has become a hot-button issue for politicians and business officials, who worry that unless it's criminalised, spamming could become an increasingly costly nuisance for companies and individuals.