Police officers and detectives in Britain will now receive special training on how to use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to keep a tab on the movements of suspected criminals.

Under this new programme, around 3,500 officials will receive the social media training each year, said the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), which supports police by providing expertise in areas such as information technology, information sharing and recruitment.

"This programme is a vital part of the career pathway for detectives and the new training covers sensitive areas of policing where limited guidance existed previously," Nick Gargan, acting head of the NPIA, was quoted as saying by the Telegraph.

"These improvements are exactly what detectives need to tackle the challenges and complexities of modern policing effectively."

Social networking sites have already proved crucial in a number of high profile cases.

In a recent case, it was found that the Bebo profile page of Vicky Couchman, who went missing in East Sussex, was updated after her disappearance by her father Tony Couchman.

Couchman was later charged with her murder but was found dead in his prison cell shortly before he was due to stand trial.