A European Union privacy panel has asked Google, Yahoo and MSN to delete data taken from users after six months.

In a report, the privacy watchdog said that although most of the big search engines were based outside the E.U. they should live up to European data protection laws. Although at the moment the watchdog's recommendations cannot be enforced, it is possible that it will be listened to by the E.U.'s Executive Commission, which could post stricter rules.

Search engines fall under the rules drawn up in 1995 if their operators collect users' Internet Protocol addresses or gather search-history information by using cookies. The watchdog seems to be saying that IP addresses are also personal information and it means that search engines would not be able to record that data, either.