More people use high-speed internet nowadays.

The threat of global terrorism is starting to roll back in some areas, but the Internet is a potent weapon being used to rally militants and must be better monitored, the new UN counter-terrorism chief said on Nov.13..

"The Internet is a real worry and I don't think we've found the answer yet," said Mike Smith, an Australian who starts work on Nov.12 as head of the United Nations' Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate in New York.

"In the old days extremists used to have to cross borders to plan and attack sites," Smith told Reuters. "Nowadays a lot of that stuff can happen on the Internet, they can give instructions, they can coordinate, they can recruit through these jihadi websites."

Smith, 58, formerly Australia's counter-terrorism ambassador, takes over at the UN from Spain's Javier Ruperez and said he would like the world body to lead a global awareness campaign against Internet-aided militancy, using school education and UN agencies like Unesco.

"People need to be aware, communities need to be aware, people who are running Internet cafes, youth groups and so on, they need to take some measures, or be alert, and prepared to talk to the authorities when they see something happening that they are worried about," he said.

"I think our answer to the internet, as in so many things, is going to be a series of strategies that overlap and provide a sort of perimeter defence."