A controversial new data retention law comes into force this week which means that your internet service provider is now legally obliged to store details of your emails and VoIP calls for a year, as part of the 'war on terror'.

"ISPs will be legally obliged to store details of emails and internet telephony for 12 months as a potential tool to aid criminal investigations," reads a report in the Guardian.

"Although the content of emails and calls will not be held, ISPs will be asked to record the date, time, duration and recipients of online communications."

The move is an extension of a current EC directive on data retention that already applies to telecoms providers brought into force as a response to the2005 London bombings.