The makers of a video game which features cyber babes playing volleyball have been angered by attempts to remove the women's digital bikinis.
Japanese games developer Tecmo has warned of legal action against anyone who published information rendering the women in Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball completely nude during gameplay.
"We're watching you very closely! Please do not post things that infringe copyrights and other legal issues," said the firm on its official website.
This is not the first time that a video game featuring a cyber babe has been altered by game enthusiasts. Patches to remove the clothes of the most famous virtual heroine of all, Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider games, are widely available on the internet.
'Tracking a suspect'
Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball for Microsoft's Xbox console features characters from the cast of the Dead or Alive fighting game series.
The title features voluptuous heroines who preen, sun themselves and play volleyball in bathing suits on a tropical island.
Since it was released in the US and Japan in January, several so-called game patches have appeared on the net.
The computer code alters the textures used to build the bodies of the women in the game to make them appear completely unclothed.
Nude images of the women in the game have also been published on the internet.
The makers of the game, Tecmo, have taken a stern view on the issue.
In a message posted to Tecmo's official forums on the web, the games developer warned Xbox hackers to stop developing nude patches for Xtreme Beach Volleyball
"Please do not post anything about nude patches and other hacked information or you will be punished to the fullest extent of the law," it said.
The warning went on to say: "So far we're tracking one suspect, anybody care to be the second?"
This is the second time hackers have tried to remove the clothing of the cyber babes in the Dead or Alive games.
In September, Tecmo won a court case in Japan over computer code which allowed gamers to create a nude model in one of its titles.
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