Black and Jewish groups are buying internet addresses containing racist terms to prevent them being used by extreme-right wing groups.

The internet has provided far-right anti-Black and anti-Semitic groups in the US with an unrivalled means of getting their message of hate into people's homes.

Long confined to the margins, these small groups have used the net to spread their doctrine to both a national and international audience.

Many of their websites are aiming at teenagers and young people by using brightly coloured nazi symbols, badges and even heavy metal music.

Offensive address

One leading Jewish anti-racist group has developed software that parents can load into their home computers to block access to racist internet sites.

The Anti-Defamation League and similar black anti-racist groups have also been buying up potential web addresses that contain racist terms or phrases.

One internet auction company pulled the plug on efforts to sell a web address containing an offensive adjective, which was once much used in southern states to describe black people.

But buying up potential internet addresses is seen by some experts as only a partial answer.

Even software to block certain types of material raises complications. It could not be used in public schools because of freedom of speech problems.

Groups like the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center still place their strongest emphasis upon education, as well as exposing and tracking hate groups of all kinds.

But their fear is that, despite all their efforts, new means of spreading information like the internet will enable the extremists' message to reach a much wider audience