U.S. regulators in coming weeks will adopt strict limits on sending digital television programs over the Internet to avoid the problems now plaguing the music industry, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

The Federal Communications Commission will likely adopt rules that will allow programmers to attach a code to digital broadcasts that will in most cases bar consumers from sending copies of popular shows around the world, said the officials, who declined to be identified.

The approval, expected as early as next week, are intended as another step along the long road to higher-quality, crisper digital signals, which have been slow in coming because of worries about piracy, high-priced equipment and limited programming.

An agency spokeswoman declined to comment on when the five commissioners would vote on the issue.

Consumer advocates have warned that consumers will have to buy new DVD players if they want to play programs that have been recorded on machines that recognize the digital "flag." But agency officials stressed that that always happens when new technology hits the market.

"It will simply prevent consumers from illegal piracy, from mass distribution over the Internet, which is the problem with the music file sharing," Kenneth Ferree, head of the FCC's media bureau, said.

The music industry has been plagued over the last few years with consumers illegally sharing and copying songs over the Internet, which has led the recording industry to sue music downloaders for damages up to 0,000 per song.

Consumers will still be able to make unlimited copies of their favorite shows and watch them in various rooms of their homes, but they will not be able to send them over unsecured networks until protections are established, the officials said.