A CANADIAN man accused of blackmailing girls in Australia and other parts of the world into sending nude photos of themselves to him has been arrested.

Haralambos Anagnostaras, 20, allegedly met his victims in internet chat rooms and sent naked photos of himself to girls in Australia, the US, Nepal and Canada.

He then encouraged the girls, aged 12 to 16, to send nude photos of themselves to him, Quebec authorities said.

When the girls did he allegedly threatened to post their photos online unless they sent him more.

The FBI was alerted when an American girl came forward and an investigation traced the suspect's address to near Montreal.

Anagnostaras was arrested on Wednesday, his computer was seized and police allegedly found more photos and potential victims.

He was charged with possession of child pornography and will appear in Laval court on Monday for a bail hearing.

###