The European parliament on Thursday bowed to pressure from member states, led by Britain, to allow governments to access individuals' communications records.

The law, which will need to be passed by all fifteen EU countries, means that telephone and internet companies will be required to maintain a log of customers' communications for an unspecified time period, instead of the current limit of a couple of months for billing purposes.

However, police will still require a warrant to intercept the contents of the communications.

Unsolicited emails would be banned under the bill, passed by a vote of 497 to 351, unless users agree to receive them in advance.

It follows nine months of argument within the parliament, as governments sought to increase security measures following the terrorist attacks of September 11.

The Home Office welcomed the passing of the bill. Similar legislation has already been passed by the UK government.

"The UK is very pleased that the council and parliament have reached agreement on a text that will ensure that the fight against terrorism and other crime will be given appropriate weight," a spokesman said.

"It is, of course, very important to protect people's fundamental rights and freedoms, but, as the tragic events of September 11 show, this must be balanced with the need to ensure that the law enforcement community can do its job."

But civil liberties groups around the world have opposed the plans.

"This violates a fundamental principle of privacy, which is that data collected for one purpose should not be used for another," said John Wadham, director of Liberty.

"The police and other authorities will be able to trawl through all the details of the communication of millions of innocent people merely because there is a possibility that they might come across something suspicious."

The editor of Statewatch, Tony Bunyan, described the bill as "the latest casualty in the war against terrorism as far as civil liberties are concerned".