BT, Virgin, Orange, Tiscali, BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse have all signed up the deal, which will see hundreds of thousands of letters sent to net users suspected of illegally sharing music.

Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI, which represents the music industry, said: "All of the major ISPs in the UK now recognise they have a responsibility to deal with illegal file-sharers on their networks," and added, "Conversations are ongoing between record labels and ISPs."

Mr Taylor continued: "The focus is on people sharing files illegally; there is not an acceptable level of file-sharing. Musicians need to be paid like everyone else," "File-sharing (of copyright tracks without permission) is not anonymous, it is not secret, it is against the law."

Many internet firms have so far resisted calls from the BPI and have said it is not their job to act as policemen.

The BBC reported that one of its website users Mark, from Hampshire, said he downloaded and shared files illegally and argued customers were "getting their own back" he said: "I used to run half a dozen record shops in the 80s and saw how far the fat cats of the record industry would go, in milking customers and retailers dry with more hyped rubbish."

"Why should I yet again pay for, say, the Beatles’ White Album at full whack? I already bought it on LP, eight-track, cassette, and CD! This is those customers getting their own back," "So will this make me sharing a CD with my next-door neighbour over the fence illegal?" he added.

How do you feel about the legality of free downloading? Should the lawbreakers face a crack-down on or do you agree with Mark from Hampshire? Post your comments or contact team solicitr