There are more than 6,000 Internet sites available in the Republic promoting illegal software, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has claimed.

It called on Internet Service Providers (ISPs), which control access to most of the sites, to "take a moral stance".

It says the Republic has one of the highest software piracy rates in Europe.

The organisation said yesterday that the largest Internet counterfeit sales operation in the EU had been shut down. The Danish-based operation, according to the BSA, produced 125,000 CD-ROMs valued at $237 million (#205 million).

The BSA said it was conducting further investigations throughout the EU and planned to pursue legal actions and seek damages against offenders.

(# - Euro)