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Thursday, 13 May, 2004, 10:34 GMT 11:34 UK

Passion tops most-pirated films

The Passion of the Christ Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of the Christ has topped the list of most-pirated films, a US internet analyst has said.

Tracking firm BayTSP, which monitors web traffic, said 36,693 copies of the film had been found on the internet during April via file-sharing services.

Gibson's film, released in the US in February, will not be available on DVD in the US until August.

The second-most copied film was 21 Grams, starring Benicio Del Toro.

Hollywood studios are desperately trying to stem internet piracy of films in an effort to avoid a repeat of the economic downturn which has affected the music industry.

'Spider' tracking

New file-sharing technology, including BitTorrent, has made it easier for people to copy files as compressed files, then share them on the internet.

High-speed internet connections, such as Broadband, are also thought to have prompted the rise in film piracy.

BayTSP uses a tracking technology, known as a spider, to find copies of copyrighted material on the internet.

The Passion of the Christ has made more than $375m (£220m) in the US alone, since its release.

A company spokesman said the Pixar animated feature Finding Nemo, a huge box-office success last year, was the most pirated film in the last 12 months.



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