A UK man is facing jail after he emailed pictures of his lover to everyone in her address book when he found out she was flirting with other men.

Stephen Hailes, 48, had been in an "internet romance" with Karen Parker, 36, after the pair met in a chat room last August, the Daily Mail reported.

She learned of his action when her friends contacted her and asked her why she had sent them naked photographs of herself.

During the romance Parker, a married mother-of-two, sent a series of nude pictures of herself to Hailes, a former tree surgeon.

Hailes became angry after he hacked into Parker's email account and discovered she was flirting with other men.

To get revenge he forwarded the lurid pictures to all the contacts in her email address book, a court heard.

Hailes, who never met Parker in person, has pled guilty to sending indecent images by a public communication network in Cheltenham Magistrates' Court, the Daily Mail reported.

"She was a married woman but she sent unsolicited photographs of herself naked to the defendant," prosecutor Sharon Jomaa said in court.

"When the defendant noticed that Mrs Parker was contacting other men over the internet and meeting them, he became jealous and eventually accessed her Hotmail and forwarded the photographs.

"She learned of his action when her friends contacted her and asked her why she had sent them naked photographs of herself.

"In police interview the defendant said that he wanted her husband to realise what sort of woman his wife was."

Hailes said he only meant to send the photos to Parker's husband and had accidently clicked the wrong button.

Outside the hearing Hailes told the Daily Mail he felt unfairly treated.

"I can't believe what's happened," he said.

"I really liked her and thought we may have something special together.

"It's such a shame it's ended like this.

"I don't see why I could go to prison for sending these rude pictures of her, when she made the rude pictures and sent them in the first place.

"She gave me the ammunition.

"It was a silly mistake. I was jealous and upset, but I honestly never meant to hurt anyone."

Hailes, of Matson, Gloucester, will be sentenced on March 19 with the magistrate warning he could face jail time for the crime.

A sword, said to be around 2,500 years old, has been discovered by Chinese archaeologists from an ancient tomb in the eastern province of Jiangxi.

The chief of the excavation team, Xu Changqing, has named the sword the "First Sword under Heaven."

"It is reckoned as the oldest ever excavated in the country," China Daily quoted Changqing, as saying.

The well-preserved 50 centimetre-long sword is black, gold and bright red.

"A dragon pattern was carved on both ends of the scabbard, and the middle part of the scabbard was decorated with two rows of a W-shaped design," Changqing said.

Two other heritage pieces dug out along with the sword from the same tomb have been named "First Mat under Heaven" and "First Fan under Heaven."

At least 1,000 relics have been found in the ancient tomb built in the late Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC) since the excavation work was launched in January last year.