WASHINGTON (AP) -- Auditors say the FBI's stepped up effort to fight Internet child pornography has led to an evidence backlog in the bureau's computer labs.

The Justice Department's inspector general says the number of such cases handled by the FBI rose more than 20-fold between the 1996 and 2007 budget years.

As a result, the heavy volume meant it took an average of about two months to examine such evidence in 2007 -- and even as long as nine months.

The FBI has built a new lab in Maryland to handle the increased demand. The FBI agreed with the inspector general's recommendations to create deadlines to reduce the backlog.

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