Spam - otherwise known as unsolicited commercial email - accounted for 56 per cent of all emails sent in November.

The biggest volumes of nuisance email blocked by anti-spam specialist Brightmail during the month were product promos (22 per cent of all spam messages), financial offers (17 per cent), adult (16 per cent) and scams (13 per cent).

Two years ago, spam accounted for just 7 per cent of email, Brightmail says.

The UK Government's new anti-spam laws come into force on December 11. Few expect this legislation to make much difference, as the overwhelming majority of spam originates from outside the jurisdiction. ®

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