WASHINGTON - An internal State Department investigative report suggests that employees may have been snooping on the passport records of celebrities far more than previously disclosed. It urges new steps to secure the files.

A report from the department's inspector general released Thursday said a survey of the records of 150 notable politicians, athletes and entertainers found that 127 of them, or 85 percent, had been accessed 4,148 times between September 2002 and March 2008.

Of the 150 files, nine had been viewed more than 101 times, according to the report. Thirty-three others had been viewed more than 26 times, and 85 files had been looked at at least once, it said.

The report did not say whether the files had been viewed for legitimate reasons, but it noted that the number "appears to be excessive." It added that it could not yet determine whether the 85 percent "hit rate" was "inordinately high."

However, officials said the number of times that some files were viewed was highly suspicious and probably a sign of inappropriate peeking at the records, which contain names, Social Security numbers and passport numbers.

They said that an investigation is under way to determine whether any wrongdoing occurred and that any employees found to have violated privacy policies would be disciplined.

"We are reviewing the circumstances under which people looked at these records, and we will take action," said Michael Kirby, a senior official with the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs, which handles passports. "If it's inappropriate access, we will take appropriate measures."

Five contract passport workers have already been fired for their role in snooping at the passports of presidential candidates John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Breaches of their records became public in March and prompted the investigation.

Shortly afterward, officials told The Associated Press that a preliminary review had found that State Department workers viewed passport records for high-profile Americans, including the late Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith, at least 20 times since January 2007.

Although Thursday's report does not conclude that any files had been improperly viewed or any laws broken, it said investigators found numerous problems in the system that is supposed to protect the confidentiality of passport records.