The National Library of Australia is to feature a number of pornographic websites in its erotica collection.

The Sydney Morning Herald revealed that librarian Edgar Crook plans to include adult websites in the National Collection of Electronic Publications "thus giving a representative picture of Australian erotica on the internet".

Crook said that the web is already part of Australian culture and that collecting porn sites is no different from keeping records of more socially acceptable material.

The library already has such weighty volumes as 'Big 'n' Bouncy' and 'Bra Busters' among other illustrious titles in its collection.

Crook explained that the erotica collection is a valuable part of the library as any examination of the society and culture of a period by necessity involves the study of its sexual activities.

He added that the library did not collect the material for "the salacious enjoyment of the contemporary reader".