Sophie Ellis Bextor is one of the artists backing the site

The Pro-music website gives provides information about online music including how and where to find legal music and how illegal downloading affects the business.

The website features pleas from artists including Russian duo Tatu, Peter Gabriel and Sophie Ellis Bextor asking fans to pay for music downloads rather than go to free file-sharing networks.

The site is supported by record companies, retailers, musicians and trade associations and was designed by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

The industry has been trying to persuade consumers away from using free-download music sites such as Kazaa and iMesh to use legal sites which pay copyright fees.

Global music sales have been in decline, with 2002 figures down 7% on the previous year, which the industry has squarely blamed on file-downloading.

Experts predict that the number of CDs illegally copied from the internet equal the number of albums legitimately sold worldwide.

Entice

Although the Recording Industry Association of America has admitted illegal download sites will never be eradicated there are on-going attempts to entice people away, including Apple's iTunes service, which has proved a success since its launch.

Pro-music carries technical tips on industry-backed download services, such as Pressplay and MusicNet, and explains copyright laws.

"The point of this initiative is to arm people with knowledge," said IFPI chairman Jay Berman.

"The Pro-music.org site is an important resource for news and information about legitimate music online: where to find it, how it works, why it's important and what the artists and creators of music think.

"Once they have gone through the site we hope people will stop and think about the impact of their choices as consumers."