STRELNA, July 16 (RIA Novosti) - G8 leaders adopted Sunday a joint statement on combating piracy and counterfeiting, a problem that had until recently been an obstacle to Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization.

The Group of Eight leaders said they were committed to bolster "efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting, especially trade in pirated and counterfeit goods" adding that this would "contribute to the sustainable development of the world economy... as well as to health and safety of consumers all over the world."

The leaders proposed creating in each G8 country a Web site providing information on intellectual property rights and "on threats posed by piracy and counterfeiting to public health," and to improve cooperation and information exchange between law enforcement agencies, including customs authorities.

"We will continue to give priority to enhancing cooperation with a view to substantially reducing the global trade in pirated and counterfeit products, and to taking effective measures against transnational networks supporting such trade," the statement says.

The leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan joined Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first day of Russia's debut G8 summit on Saturday. The event will run until Monday.