File-sharers can find out if they are being targeted by the US record industry via a website created by civil liberty activists. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, (EFF), has set up an online database which allows people to check if a subpoena has been issued for them by the Recording Industry Association of America, (RIAA).

Hundreds of subpoenas have been sent to suspected file-sharers as part of the industry's battle to stop people swapping songs over the internet.

Using the EFF site, people can check the name they used for file-sharing against a list of subpoenas issued in a Washington court.

The recording industry continues its futile crusade to sue thousands of the more than 60 million people who use file-sharing software in the US

If someone finds their name in the database, they can look at an electronic copy of the subpoena. This includes the name of the internet service provider, a list of songs pirated and the internet address of the user.

The EFF site takes its information from a US justice system called Pacer. Its online database lets people to gain a wide range of information about ongoing cases.

By the end of last week almost 900 subpoenas had been issued, with the courts granting more than 75 every day.