Google is serious in fighting child pornography globally as it plans to create a global database of images relating to child abuse and porn. The Internet giant will also share the database with rival search engine companies in a stronger effort to eliminate child porn from the Web.

Google and its team of engineers are already working on a new technology which will allow other search engines and other Web companies to exchange information about online images of children being abused or raped.

Google disclosed to The Telegraph that the new database for child porn images will be up within the year. The system will delete images of child porn flagged by the Internet Watch Foundation and other child protection organisations. It will be easier for Google to delete flagged images since it can do it collectively.

Fund for independent software developers

Google is also gathering $2 million to fund individual software developers to create new online tools to fight child pornography. Independent child protection authorities and organisations have credited Google for doing what it can in the war against child porn.

The new global database is more than welcome after search engine companies like Google have been scrutinised by British Prime Minister David Cameron for not doing enough against child porn. Mr Cameron was "sickened" by images of child sexual abuse on the Web.

Google says the new system will work by sharing data from images flagged as illegal using a type of software created in 2008. Chief Legal Officer for Google David Drummond said the company has been using hashtag technology to identify and flag images of sexual abuse.

Each image related to child abuse will be given a unique fingerprint so Google computers can identify them without people necessarily viewing them again. Google recently began work on incorporating the fingerprints into a database which will allow companies, police and charitable institutions to combine efforts to remove images of child porn.

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