A new set of guidelines may pave the way for dozens of Internet service providers in the U.K. to participate in a research project into the problem of spam, estimated to make up 60% or more of the world's e-mail traffic.

The guidelines concern how ISPs should deal with sensitive issues such as customer privacy and data-protections laws, while cooperating to shut down machines propagating spam, said Martin Hutty, head of public relations for the London Internet Exchange (LINX), a group of around 220 ISPs and network providers.

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