Fed shut down spamming operation

E-mail inboxes may be clogged with a little less spam -- at least for a while.

Federal authorities in Chicago say they've shut down one of the largest spam operations in the world. The Federal Trade Commission says it generated e-mails promoting sales of prescription drugs and "male enhancement" pills.

The FTC says authorities closed the operation by working with their counterparts in New Zealand.

The FTC plans to provide more details at a news conference in Chicago later in the day.

Since the dawn of the Internet Age, spam's been seen as a nuisance and a curse. The unwanted e-mails can fill inboxes and spread viruses. Spam's also favored by online crooks.

A recent IBM report found that despite efforts to fight it, the number of spam messages keeps rising.