"Illegal websites are a problem that no one organisation can battle alone," commented Cormac Callanan, INHOPE CEO. "When the public report illegal sites to their national hotline, often the problem lies beyond their borders. The broader the INHOPE footprint, the better we can tackle this problem."

The newest members are Hotline from Brazil, SafeWeb from Cyprus and Draugiskasinternetas from Lithuania.

Hotline Brazil, as the first South American member, represents a significant step for INHOPE. "Having visited Hotline Brazil I was impressed with the professional way they operate," said Ana Luisa Rotta, INHOPE President. "Their membership gives a very positive message to other South American countries."

Thiago Tavares, Manager of Hotline Brazil, acknowledged the role INHOPE’s Vanguard programme had to play in their application. “Through funding from the programme we attended the INHOPE meeting in 2004 where we learnt a lot from the other hotlines.”

Rotta also highlighted the political significance of other new members Cyprus and Lithuania. "Following on from Nask Poland and Matisz Hungary’s successful applications, we now have hotlines from four new EU member states," remarked Rotta. "This is great progress in a short space of time."

Michalis Ellinas, Operations Manager of SafeWeb, was pleased with the day’s results. "This is a big step for us and we’re very grateful to INHOPE for their support. We look forward to working together to make the internet safer."

Safeline from Greece and ICEC from South Korea were also successful in their applications to full membership.

To report illegal content online visit the INHOPE website.