Australian government to outlaw suicide websites

CANBERRA - Australia's government plans to outlaw inciting, promoting or teaching people how to commit suicide on the Internet, but Justice Minister Chris Ellison said on Tuesday the laws were not a bid to spark a euthanasia debate.

Use of the Internet to organise suicide pacts has emerged as a grim new problem for Japan, where at least 54 people killed themselves in 2004 in Internet-linked group suicides. Police say the real number was probably higher.

Ellison said people convicted of the offences would face fines of up to $A110,000 ($NZ119,800) for individuals and $A550,000 for corporations.

"These offences are intended to protect vulnerable individuals from people who use the Internet with destructive intent to counsel or incite others to kill themselves," Ellison said in a statement.

- REUTERS