Michael Howard has called for greater international co-operation to tackle child pornography on the internet.

His call came as the Conservative Party hosted an "internet summit" seeking to address the challenges thrown up by the growth of email and the world wide web.

"The internet has revolutionised the way we live," Howard said.

"The world wide web is a wonderful example of the innovation and dynamism of the free market.

"But it does have a darker and more sinister side.

"The internet has given criminals a new arena in which to operate, under a cloak of anonymity and without fingerprints.

"It has given paedophiles the ability to create chatrooms and to 'groom' children.

"It has made it easier for them to look at, distribute and store pictures of children being abused. It has fuelled an illegal industry which ruins young lives."

Howard told an audience of internet and child welfare experts that he wanted to develop policies that would "tackle the problem more effectively".

But he accepted that there are "no easy answers to this problem".

"When you close down one avenue, the paedophiles simply use another.  It takes constant vigilance, dogged determination and hard work," he said.

The Tory leader said that the UK internet industry was behaving responsibly in attempting to deal with the issue of child pornography on the internet.

And he praised the police for action that has so far led to over a thousand convictions.

"The question is, what more can we do?" Howard said.

"First of all, we need to look at how we can better educate parents, teachers and children themselves about the dangers. 

"Second, we need to look at whether the police have the powers they need to tackle this threat.

"And that when the police have caught these monsters, the courts have the powers they need to punish them properly.  Technology moves at an incredible speed and the law needs to keep pace with it. 

"Third, we need to look at whether the industry is doing absolutely everything it can to tackle the problem."

But Howard said he was not backing internet censorship.

Instead, he called on ministers to urge other countries to take tough action.

"International cooperation is vital if we are to strike a lasting blow against both the demand for and supply of child pornography," he said.