The US government has arrested 65 people and launched more than 1,000 investigations as part of a crackdown on child pornography distribution through Internet file-trading networks.
"The Internet is now the marketplace for child pornography, and the Department of Justice is acting to ensure that cyberspace is not a free trafficking zone for purveyors of child pornography and predators of children," Attorney General John Ashcroft said.
The Justice Department and several other agencies are working to combat what they call a growing volume of illegal child pornography traffic through "peer-to-peer" computer networks.
Peer-to-peer networks are used by millions of Internet users to swap files like music, movies and pornography directly from each others' hard drives, bypassing the central server computers that underpin much of the Internet.
"Individuals in such situations are trolling the back alleys and dark corners of the Internet," Mr Ashcroft said. "They are leveraging its technology and anonymity to abuse and exploit the most innocent in our society."
Operators of the networks have condemned the use of peer-to-peer to distribute pornography and have pledged to help prosecutors track down paedophiles.
Since the initiative was launched late last year, the government has executed more than 350 search warrants around the country and identified nearly 3,400 suspect computers that are distributing pornography through the use of peer-to-peer software.
The 65 arrests include charges of offences related to possession and distribution of child pornography and also with sexually abusing children.
Officials said they had also identified and rescued more than 50 "victim children" in the course of the investigation.