Anti-spam service ClearMyMail has said that much of the unsolicited email it is seeing at the moment is GTA-related, with many messages containing a nasty surprise for the recipient.

Dan Field, managing director of ClearMyMail said: "We are seeing unprecedented levels of spam in relation to the game; with more than half of the spam our service is blocking relating to Grand Theft Auto, most of which contain viruses and spyware."

The game went on sale today and has been selling fast. Play.com predicted that Grand Theft Auto IV was "going to break all previous records" in terms of sales.

"We have had to recruit extra warehouse staff to work through the night to ensure product arrives on the day of launch," Play.com's Stuart Rowe said.

Amazon was also confident of record sales.

"Despite costing three times as much per unit, we forecast shipping more copies of Grand Theft Auto IV than 2007's major DVD releases such as Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End and Transformers – demonstrating how video game titles are now a major part of the home entertainment industry," said Matt Henderson of Amazon.co.uk.

The game is the fourth in the GTA series, which has attracted controversy in the past for rewarding criminal activities. It carries an 18 rating in the UK.

www.clearmymail.com

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