Addressing a major concern of law enforcement, Cisco Systems has developed a way for police to listen in on Internet-based phone calls without detection.

The world's largest maker of networking equipment is testing surveillance products in its labs and making the service available to customers on request, spokesman Jim Brady said.

He said Cisco has also built the capabilities into a "limited number" of its products, though none of them have yet been purchased.

Cisco developed the "Lawful Intercept Control" service in response to requests from corporate customers, including Internet service providers — but did not work with the government in developing the standard over the past eight months, Brady said.

The San Jose-based company submitted a 37-page proposal on its surveillance service to the Internet Engineering Task Force on March 30. The standards organization is accepting comments for six months.

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