06/06/2008

Virgin and the British Photographic Institute (BPI) are set to send warning letters to all of their customers who they believe are participating in illegal file sharing and downloading.

Those suspected of such actions will receive an 'informative' correspondence from both firms, educating them on how to safely download music without being at risk of legal action.

The decision has been made not to take harsher action as the BPI believes that some accounts may have been used without the owner's knowledge, for example by a child or other family member, Vnunet reports.

Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI, said: 'Education is absolutely key to reducing the extent of illegal downloading and we are pleased to be working with Virgin Media on this campaign,' the online resource reports.

It has also been suggested that the BPI hopes that anyone who receives several warning but continues to offend will have their account deactivated and face legal action.