The technical wing of the state police has already seen the demonstration of the software named CRISH (Customer Registration and Identification) and is making its technical analysis, claimed Director, GI Biometrics, Amit Kaushal.

After installing the software, those visiting cyber cafes will be identified as soon as they sit in front of the computer for surfing the net with the help of a web camera.

"The photographs and finger prints of the net users will be automatically stored in the database of the computer with date, time and terminal in which they logged on eliminating the need for maintaining registers of visitors in the cyber cafes", Kaushal said.

Also with the use of the software there would be no need to prepare sketches of the suspects of sending threatening e-mails as their photo and finger prints would be stored in the computer database.

"The software can be of great use for investigating agencies.... If the software is installed in all cyber cafes those sending threatening e-mails could be easily identified with the help of database", a senior police official said.

The software, which costs around Rs 12,000 including biometric equipment, also has anti-hacking provisions making it difficult to tamper the database.

The software can also be used by the hotel industry and help in identifying visitors. After serial blasts in Jaipur and an e-mail sent to news channels by a group called Indian Mujahideen through a cyber cafe in Ghaziabad, the software was purchased by a number of cyber cafes in the capital to avoid "unnecessary grilling" by the security agencies after any such incident.

"We will produce the database of visitors with pictures and finger prints, whenever needed by police with the help of the software", Pawan, a cafe owner in Lucknow, said.

Kaushal said that he has also written a letter to the Union Home department for analysing the software and recommending its use.