Microsoft offers one-click police report via IM

Users of Windows Live Messenger or MSN Messenger in the United Kingdom can click a new button in the chat application to contact police with reports of suspicious behavior and instances of inappropriate sexual conduct online.

The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant has partnered with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre on the new feature. The CEOP Centre's "Report Abuse" icon in the new Messenger tab will take users directly to online police services.

"Behind the Report Abuse button will sit police and intelligence officers who have been specially trained to tackle child sex abuse," Jim Gamble, chief executive of the CEOP Centre, said in a statement issued Monday. "We will tell you how to capture information and how to seize online discussions and then proactively do all we can to track down the perpetrator.

Users outside the United Kingdom can make reports, too, directed to law enforcement officials in the United States, Australia, Canada or Interpol, the statement said.