Vienna busts huge child porn ring

The suspects paid to view images that showed "the worst kind of child sexual abuse", Guenther Platter said.

The videos were posted on a Russian website, hosted by an Austrian company.

No arrests have yet been made but Austrian authoritiesare sharing their information with investigators in other countriesincluding the US and Germany.

Austrian federal police said the case was "a strike against child pornography unprecedented in Austrian criminal history".

Girls could be seen being raped, and you could also hear screams Harald Gremel Head of Austrian investigation

Twenty-three suspects were being questioned, Austrianofficials said, and arrest warrants might soon be issued. Fourteen ofthem have confessed to downloading the material.

The youngest person implicated was 17 and the oldest was69. They included students, government employees and retired people, MrPlatter said.

He said the FBI was investigating some 600 suspects inthe US. German authorities were following leads on at least 400 people,France was looking into about 100 more and Britain was investigating 72people.

Denmark's news agency Ritzau said 19 Danes were involved in the investigation, according to police sources.

Downloads of the illegal videos were recorded incountries ranging from Algeria to Iceland and Venezuela - those underinvestigation are suspected of distributing the material after watchingit.

'Screams heard'

The inquiry began in July after an Austrian internetservice provider notified police that unauthorised video files had beenuploaded on to its server from London.

The material was accessible via a link to a Russianwebsite that offered it for downloading - the site has since beenclosed down.

Within 24 hours, investigators said they recorded morethan 8,000 hits on the video and DVD material from more than 2,360computer addresses in 77 countries.

Harald Gremel, an Austrian police expert on internetcrime who led the investigation, said the videos were made in easternEurope and featured children of up to 14 years of age.

"Girls could be seen being raped, and you could alsohear screams" Mr Gremel said, adding that users paid $89 (68 euros,£45) for three month's access to the material.

Under Austria law, the maximum prison term for possession of pornography involving children under 14 years is two years.

Production and distribution of child pornography is punishable by up to 10 years in jail.