Virgin to cut off pirates

Virgin Media has thrown down the gauntlet to pirates, warning those that persist in sharing music illegally that they could have their connections cut.

The ISP's stern warning comes in the wake of a partnership to offer customers unlimited music from Universal, the world's biggest music label.

For a monthly fee, yet to be specified, Virgin will offer its broadband customers a chance to download unlimited music from the Universal catalogue, which includes artists such as U2, Duffy and Amy Winehouse.

Virgin Media, one of the country's biggest broadband providers pledged to adopt a strong anti-piracy campaign to prevent tracks downloaded from its service appearing on file-sharing websites.

In the past Virgin tried a letter campaign warning households that downloaded music illegally, but this was deemed to have little effect.

The ISP signaled that it would now be willing to suspend its service to customers as a last resort.

Mark Mulligan, an analyst and vice-president of Forrester Research, said the announcement was deliberately timed to coincide with the Digital Britain report.

Digital Britain: The Key Points

Mulligan also said that Virgin's adoption of a graduated response, whereby pirates will receive a series of warnings before having their accounts suspended, runs counter to the government's preferred policy of using technical solutions such as slowing internet connections down.

Virgin said that it is also in talks with other labels and will roll the service out before Christmas.