[Achtung: Despite the jab, I realize you can substitute "Amerikan" for "German" and "kiddie-prawn" for "nazitunz" -Ed.] Tuesday April 10 1:41 PM ET Germany Cracks Down on Internet Nazi Music Trade By Adam Tanner BERLIN (Reuters) - German police swooped down on the homes of more than 100 computer buffs in a new crackdown on the illegal trade of Nazi songs over the Internet, officials said on Tuesday. The federal crime agency said the prosecutor's office in Bonn had opened 120 cases against computer enthusiasts accused of trading illegal songs of far-right ``skinhead bands.'' Displaying Nazi symbols and trading Nazi music are banned in Germany, but the Internet has made it ever more difficult for authorities to stem the flow of such material. A quick search of the Internet shows many sites offering compact MP3 files of songs such as the ``Horst Wessel Song'' -- the anthem of the Nazi party -- and many modern-day variants such as the ``Swastika Flies Again.'' Even though swapping music files over the Internet is most common in the United States, the MP3 compression technique that enabled the easy transfer of files was created in Germany. German officials said it is not illegal to listen to Nazi songs, but it is forbidden to offer others the chance to download them via internet sites which offer music for sale and swapping. Seized Computers And Disks The federal crime agency said local police across Germany had searched apartments belonging to 103 people in a coordinated operation last week. They seized computers and disks and the suspects face prison sentences of up to three years. ``The crime agency measures are seen as successful and show that even the Internet music exchange market is not a lawless realm,'' the agency said in a statement. Even if Germany scores occasional battles against electronic hate, officials say they are facing an ever-growing menace. ``None of us wants the Internet to turn into a stomping group of anti-social and anti-community rabble-rousers and preachers of hate,'' Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin told a conference on governing the Internet last week. ``But in the past year such Web sites have become numerous despite all efforts.'' The Interior Ministry denied in a statement on Tuesday a report that it was considering using hacking methods to disable sites whose content is illegal in Germany. ``Internet sites with far-right, neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic and violence-glorifying contents are a growing threat,'' the ministry said. ``These offerings are nearly always put on the net from abroad, so Germany has no legal grounds (for action).'' The ministry said it was working closely with national authorities and international bodies to counter the problem. A French court last year ordered the popular web site Yahoo to block access to sites offering Nazi memorabilia for sale. In France it is illegal to exhibit or sell objects with racist overtones.