Washington, Nov 23: The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly voted to curb the spread of unsolicited Internet junk mail, launching the first attempt to regulate content on the world wide web since its launch in the 1990s. By a vote of 392-5, the lower US chamber approved the Can-Spam Act of 2003 yesterday that will allow millions of Americans to block unsolicited commercial e-mail traffic or so-called "spam" that has become at best a nuisance and at worst a threat to millions of internet users around the world.

The Senate passed a similar piece of legislation last month and is largely expected to accept changes introduced in the house bill. Both pieces of legislation, which largely target junk mails containing sexual content, will now have to be amalgamated into a joint Senate-house bill.

"For the first time during the Internet-era, American consumers will have the ability to say no to spam," said Republican representative Billy Tauzin, chairman of the house energy and commerce committee, a key promoter of the measure.

"What's more, parents will be able to breathe easier knowing that they have the ability to prevent pornographic spam from reaching defenseless, unsuspecting children," he pointed out. Bureau Report