Spider-Man targeted by web pirates

Some Star Wars fans could not wait for its release

About 10 million people have attempted to download copies illegally of blockbusters Spider-Man and the new Star Wars film, a new report estimates.

And of those, the report says that between two to three million successfully finished the operation allowing them to watch the whole movie.

The Copyright Crusade II report, compiled by US research company Viant, will send alarm bells ringing through the film industry as studios attempt to stave off the threat of internet piracy.

The report suggests between 400,000 and 600,00 film copies are downloaded each day from illegal internet sites.

This is up on last year's figures, when the highest estimate was 500,000 a day.

Spider-Man was on the web before it hit cinemas

The first version of Spider-Man to appear on the internet was reported on 2 May, one day before it opened in the US and was a version taken by a hand-held video camera from inside a cinema.

May has been a particularly busy time for bootleggers with about nine million users surfing the web for new films, according to Viant.

The majority of the downloads are being transferred over internet channels such as usenet, IRC, Gnutella and FastTrack, which allow files to be shared by millions around the world.

'Theft is theft'

The problem is mainly focused on the American market, where widespread broadband connections make it a faster and simpler process.

The Motion Picture Alliance of America (MPAA) has shown particular concern about the rise in film piracy, believing the industry is losing more than $3bn (£2m) in worldwide revenue.

Its president Jack Valenti recently spoke to a US Congress committee about its attempts to stamp out piracy but also its intention to embrace new technology.

"Movie producers and distributors are filled with optimism over the prospect of the internet as another new delivery system to dispatch their movies to consumers, at a fair and reasonable price," he said.

"Consumers ultimately benefit from these endeavors because they will enjoy more choices for accessing the movies they want in high-quality digital format."

He also urged the committee to "send a clear message of deterrence that theft is theft, whether conducted online or off".