Macedonia's parliament approved a law Tuesday for the creation of a public database of convicted paedophiles, whose personal data would be shared on social networks.

According to the law, the convicted child abuser register would include all personal data about offenders, including their photographs.

"Our goal is to protect children from any kind of abuse and to increase level of attention and prevention of their parents by stigmatising those monsters," the minister of labor and social issues Spiro Ristovski told parliament.

The latest government data show 231 people were convicted of paedophilia between 2004 and 2009. Figures show the number of cases in the Balkan country to be on the rise.

Officials said they expected to compile the register in the next three months and publish it on Facebook.