ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) – Nigeria – with its global notoriety as a base for criminals exploiting the reach of the Internet – is considering making spamming a criminal offense that could land senders of unsolicited e-mails in jail for three years.

“Any person spamming electronic messages to recipients with whom he has no previous relationship commits an offense,” said the text of the draft law presented to the legislature this week.

A person found guilty risks either at least three years in jail, a fine equal to US$3,500 (about euro3,000), or both.

The bill must be approved by a simple majority of lawmakers to become law. It stands a good chance. It was introduced by the governing party, which has an overwhelming majority in both houses of parliament.

Africa’s most populous country is known for its “advance fee” scamsters – criminals scouting for victims by sending millions of unsolicited e-mails with false proposals around the world.

Among the most common are e-mails proposing to share portions of dead African dictators’ ill-gotten estates in exchange for an advance payment to help move the money overseas. The scammers keep the “fees” while victims receive nothing.

The European Union in 2003 banned all commercial e-mail unless a recipient has asked for it, but the regulation must be approved by each national parliament to become effective.

The US Congress and more than three dozen US state legislatures have passed laws to try to contain spam.

Argentina, Australia, Canada and Japan are among other countries that have taken legal steps against spam, according to a Web site maintained by David Sorkin, an Illinois law professor who tracks the issue.