Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharers in the UK could soon face legal action from the recording industry.

Record companies in other countries have already started legal action against people sharing copyrighted music online.

The Recording Industry Association of America has sued around 5,400 people over the past year, fining them on average $3,000 a piece in an effort to discourage the online swapping of music, which it claims has damaged CD sales.

And earlier this summer, European members of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry filed more than 200 suits in Germany, Denmark and Italy.

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) told vnunet.com that there was a hard core of music uploaders that it believed could only be stopped through the courts.

"We have been quite satisfied with [our] awareness campaign, and use of P2P networks has gone down as people are more aware. But there is still a problem [with illegal file sharing] in the UK," said a BPI spokesman.

"We have seen that litigation has had a practical effect in the US and Europe, and it seems that for some people it is the only way to deter them."

He would not say when the BPI would file any lawsuits, although The Times has reported that UK record companies are planning legal action later this month.

The spokesman added: "We will get IP addresses and names. P2P users have a misconception that they are anonymous, but they are not. Anyone breaking the law is not anonymous."

The BPI did not say how it would obtain the names of the P2P users, or what kind of fines it would ask the courts to impose.