HACKING group Anonymous has a new enemy, turning its focus away from government websites.

It plans to target paedophiles and "eradicate this plague from the internet".

The group launched "Operation Pedo Chat" at the weekend, under the hashtag #OpPedoChat on Twitter, ZDNet reported.

In an announcement note on file sharing site, Pastebin, the group wrote that the number of websites dedicated to trading in porn of both male and female children and the sharing of illegal fantasies were "unacceptable" and "would not be tolerated".

"We, Anonymous, aim to diminish if not eradicate this plague from the internet," the group wrote.

"For the good of our followers, for the good of mankind, and for our own enjoyment we shall expel from the internet and systematically destroy any such boards that continue to operate."

Over the weekend the hackers collectively took down several websites where users traded illegal images and videos of children.

So far 85 websites have been targeted, with more being added every day, according to ZDNet.

Many of the sites are still offline, while some others have already returned.

As promised in its announcement, the hackers posted the names, IP and email address, Windows Live IDs - and in some instances phone numbers - of alleged paedophiles online.

The group also said it planned to deface and hijack the domains where child porn was traded, and collect user logs of the people who used them.

This isn't Anonymous's first campaign against child porn. In October last year the hacking collective attacked more than 40 paedophilia sites and exposed up to 1500 paedophiles that had been using them in a campaign entitled "Operation Darknet".

However, Operation Pedo Chat seems to be more organised and targeted than previous campaigns. The operation has already been translated into French, German, Irish and Greek.