HOLLYWOOD is facing a fresh challenge from internet film pirates after high-quality copies of The Matrix Reloaded appeared on websites days after its release.

Hundreds of fans have downloaded the film which has taken more than £300 million at the box office in 63 countries in two weeks.

Pirate films generally tend to be poor quality, but the latest copies of The Matrix Reloaded feature widescreen format and surround sound, triggering fears that they could eat into legitimate box office receipts and DVD sales.

Warner Brothers released the film simultaneously across the world in an attempt to avoid illegal copying. However, pirates using an original print of the film have exploited a computer file-sharing program called BitTorrent, which allows users to download large-scale files from different sources on the net.

The full film takes about three hours for broadband users to download free.

Jack Valenti, the president of the Motion Picture Association of America, has said that piracy could wreak havoc on Hollywood, just as it has done on the music industry.

At the Cannes Film Festival, Mr Valenti urged Europe to join forces with Hollywood in a battle against the pirates.

“The world’s cinema future is put to extreme peril by the menace of piracy, growing larger and more malignant every day on every continent,” he said.

Mr Valenti urged governments to show the political will to facilitate the tracking, prosecution and punishment of “digital thievery”.

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