Senior Democratic party officials are contacting websites including eBay and Craigslist in an attempt to halt the sale of tickets for the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20.

Almost a quarter of a million free tickets to the ceremony will be given away in the run-up to the event, with distribution largely left to local congressional offices around the US.

But with the overwhelming interest in the swearing-in of America's first black president, some party officials are concerned that ticket touts could try to profit from the event.

Californian senator Diane Feinstein said she had heard that some buyers would be willing to pay as much as $40,000 to attend the service. She will be writing to a number of websites asking them to ban scalpers.

"These tickets are given for free to people. This is a major civic event of the time, and no one pays for their tickets, and we believe no one should be required to pay for their tickets," Feinstein told the Associated Press.

The senior senator from California is also said to be preparing legislation to make the re-sale of inauguration tickets a criminal offence.

Auction website eBay is no stranger to controversy over the sale of tickets to free events, and introduced a policy in Britain earlier this year to contain the activities of ticket touts.

Users selling tickets to free events must now donate a proportion of profits to the charity concerned. The scheme, first trialled in conjunction with last year's Live Earth concert, was brought in after the site was criticised for harbouring scalpers.

In 2005, Sir Bob Geldof attacked the "sick profiteering" he saw on eBay during the run-up to the Live 8 concert, where free tickets earmarked for the public were being sold online for as much as £500.

The inauguration of president-elect Obama is already having an effect on auction and classified advertising websites. The price of hotel rooms in Washington is rocketing, with some being sold on eBay for as much as $2,500.