LONDON (AFP) - Britain's biggest Internet providers have signed an agreement with the country's recording industry to clamp down on illegal downloading, in a move announced by the government Thursday.

Under the deal to get tough on the estimated 6.5 million Britons who have downloaded music and video illegally, letters will be sent to the most prolific offenders warning them that they have been detected.

The British music industry could lose up to one billion pounds (two billion dollars, 1.27 billion euros) in lost revenue over the next five years from illegal downloading via file-sharing sites, according to estimates.

The government-brokered accord was signed by Britain's six biggest Internet Service Providers (ISPs) -- BT, Virgin Media, Orange, Tiscali, BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse -- and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), representing record companies.

In addition, ISPs and film and music companies are expected to draw up a new code of practice on how to deal with illegal downloaders, on the basis of which the government would consider new legislation.

"This is an intelligent approach to tackling unlawful file-sharing by industry and ISPs," said British Business Secretary John Hutton. "It tells consumers what they can do, rather than just what they can't.

"This light-touch approach keeps up with the pace set by technology and will protect consumers, creative industries and the use of technology now and in the longer term," he added.

Feargal Sharkey, former singer with 1970s band the Undertones and now head of British Music Rights representing ordinary working musicians, welcomed the move.

"Will we ever 100 percent stop online piracy? I'm not sure we'd ever achieve that goal," said Sharkey.

"But it's worth trying to pursue and work with the 70-80 percent of young people that want to change and are prepared to work with the industry," he told BBC television.

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