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New Pictures of Madeleine, aged six

Police have released new pictures showing how Madeleine McCann might look now.

The new images have been published in an online video which officers want internet users to spread worldwide.  The one-minute film includes a image of how Madeleine might look with dark brown hair and tanned skin, in case she has been living in north Africa.

The appeal, launched by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) centre, is targeted at a friend or relative of the person responsible for the little girl's disappearance.

Ceop head Jim Gamble said the clip's message, which has been translated into six other languages, had been crafted with the help of psychologists to persuade the witness to "do the right thing".

He said: "The person we are looking to reach is likely to be a partner, family member, friend or colleague of the person or people who were involved in Madeleine's disappearance.

"It is also highly probable that they, or someone close to them, is using the internet to search for any updates that may suggest the police are getting closer to discovering the truth."

Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal on May 3 2007 while her parents dined with friends nearby.  Despite a massive police investigation and huge publicity worldwide, she has not been found.

Ceop hopes people will spread the new film - the first appeal of its kind - across the globe using blogs, email and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

It features a number of well-known photographs and video clips of Madeleine, as well as three pictures of how she could look now, aged six, if she is still alive.

Mr Gamble stressed that investigations involving missing children were never closed, citing the cases of youngsters such as Jaycee Lee Dugard, who turned up in California in August this year after disappearing 18 years earlier.

He said: "For each one of those kids there's a story where lots of people thought they would never turn up again.

"I believe this is about hope, it's about collective hope. And I absolutely believe this message cascading and spreading in the right way will deliver answers for us."

Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, welcomed the initiative.  They said in a statement: "We are extremely grateful to Ceop for launching this new message around the world in such an effective way. It is vital that it is seen and heard as widely as possible.

"If you know what has happened to Madeleine, it is still not too late to do the right thing and come forward to your local police with that information.

"We love Madeleine. Please help us bring her home."

 Watch more video on the new pictures of Madeleine

Find Madeleine

What do you think about these new pictures?  You can leave a message of support for the McCann family by clicking 'add a comment' below.