The Ruhama group has also expressed concern about the use of the internet for the purposes of forced prostitution of trafficked women.

An international conference on human trafficking, to be held at Trinity College Dublin this week, will hear from Ruhama as well as a host of national and international experts in the area.

"Ruhama is concerned about the modern uses of technology in prostitution like mobile phones and the internet. It brings prostitution underground. These women have no contact with society. Prostitution has become so covert and we would be concerned about that, " said a spokesman.

Peter Tiley, a retired metropolitan police officer who worked in London's vice unit for 20 years, will also address 'The European Slave Trade: Character, Causes, Challenges' conference about the rise in popularity of websites offering prostitution services by trafficked women. "The majority of women on these websites are involved in forced prostitution. . . I would doubt very, very much if many women on these websites are doing it voluntarily, " Tiley said. The majority of women and children trafficked into the UK for sexual exploitation are from Eastern Europe and Asia, according to Tiley: "I would imagine it would be a similar situation in Ireland."

Many websites offering prostitution services in Ireland have appeared within the past few years. The majority of women offering sexual services on such sites are predominantly nonIrish, and the websites which promote them are not illegal because the majority are licensed to owners with addresses outside the State. This loophole means they can provide every detail of what each woman will offer, as well as photos and contact information.

In an attempt to ensure it is operating within the law, one such site has posted the following notice: "This site is built for the use of visitors who reside outside of the Republic of Ireland and do not encourage in any way for persons who are based in the Republic of Ireland to visit this site." Despite this, there are over 400 women on the site offering prostitution services in Dublin, Cork, Belfast, Galway and Limerick. Others will travel to clients in other areas of the country.

Tiley said men buying sex from women on such websites had no idea that they had most likely been trafficked and were selling their bodies against their will.

As well as trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, the conference will also address the issue of trafficking for the purpose of domestic labour.

"Trafficking for forced labour doesn't mean people being bundled into the back of a truck and brought here against their will, " said Prof Ronaldo Munck, of DCU. "It means people coming here legally but under a false pretext and having their passports and documents taken from them by the traffickers who have promised them a different life, " Munck said. " This is definitely happening in Ireland. Forced labour is occurring in farming, construction and the restaurant trade."