• Young men influenced by US gang culture, says top cop
• Americanised men "thumbing their noses at the law"
• Internet provides avenue to brag about crimes

GLAMOURISED in rap songs and Hollywood movies, America's violent gang culture has crossed borders and entered Australia.

New South Wales  police this week acknowledged the global reach of American gangs in dangerously influencing wayward Australian youth.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said police were closely monitoring the trend of so-called gangs on the internet, which had given youngsters a new avenue in which to boast and brag.

"The concern for police is the Americanisation of these young men who are influenced by the criminal gang culture in the US, by parading themselves and thumbing their noses at the law," he says.

"These hoodlums take great delight in showing off."

Influence ... rappers Biggie Smalls aka Notorious BIG (left) and Tupac Shakur, whose music has glamourised violent gang culture

Known as the gang capital of America, Los Angeles has spawned the most infamous - and globally influential - gangs in the US. American government figures show there were at least 30,000 gangs and 800,000 members active in the US last year.

The number of gang members has grown steadily over the past five years, up from 731,500 in 2002 and 750,000 in 2004.

Gangs are predominantly divided on racial lines, with members usually belonging to the same race.

Recent studies show that in the US, Hispanics accounted for almost half (47 per cent) of all gang members, with African-Americans comprising almost a third (31 per cent), whites 13 per cent and Asians 6 per cent.

Gangland fighting has been immortalised - and in many cases glamourised - by top-selling rap stars such as Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Jay Z and Eminem.

Several singers have become martyrs for the cause after being killed in gang-related shoot-outs.

New York-raised rap star Tupac "2Pac" Shakur was a proponent of the east coast versus west coast hip hop rivalry and remains the only artist to have a No. 1 album while in prison.

Shakur penned songs about growing up amid violence and hardship in ghettos and conflicts with other rappers, before being gunned down in 1996 at age 25 by a member of the LA-borne gang The Crips.

Fellow New York-raised singer Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Smalls was gunned down in a car in 1997 after leaving a Los Angeles party for the release of his album. The murder is unsolved, but reports suggest the killer was a Crips member.

Along with its major rival The Bloods, The Crips are one of the biggest and most infamous US gangs. Both started in the tough LAneighbourhoods of Compton and Inglewood.

The Crips - founded in 1969 - are primarily but not exclusively an African-American gang that has a membership that police believe exceeds 30,000 people.

During its first decade, the gang, which was initially inspired by the Black Panther movement, became increasingly violent as its leaders attempted to expand the group's turf. By the early 1980s the gang was heavily involved in the drug trade.

The Crips are also known to be involved in murders, robberies, extortion and many other crimes.

For many years, Crips were characterised by their tendency to wear blue in order to identify each other but this practice has waned due to police crackdowns.

The Crips are known to have an intense and bitter rivalry with the Bloods, another predominantly African-American gang, which was founded in LA in 1972.

Since their formation the Bloods, which comprises at least 30,000 members, have branched out throughout the US and have influenced youth groups using the same name in Europe.

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