It was Interpol's second public appeal to identify a suspected child sex predator after its first such campaign last year led to the arrest and trial of a Canadian in Thailand.

Interpol had posted pictures of a white-haired, balding man on its website on Tuesday, saying they were part of a series that showed him sexually abusing boys aged between six and 10 in south-east Asia.

In a statement on its website on Thursday, Interpol named the suspect as Wayne Nelson Corliss, 59, from Union City, New Jersey, and said he was due to appear in a US District Court.

'Two days ago, this man's nationality, identity and location were totally unknown ... That two days later, the primary suspect is now in custody is an outstanding achievement,' said Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble.

Corliss was arrested in Newark, New Jersey, in the early hours of Thursday by special agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Interpol said the arrest was as a result of independent tips provided via the Internet to its headquarters in Lyon, France, by three people living in the United States.

The Interpol website received almost 250,000 visits in the first 24 hours of the appeal - more than 10 times the normal daily average.

The suspect featured in approximately 100 images in a series of around 800 which showed the sexual abuse of at least three young boys and which were believed to have been taken in south-east Asia in 2000 and 2001.

The first pictures of the man were found by police in Norway in March 2006. -- REUTERS