Movie pirates conjured up DVD and VCD versions of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" the instant the wildly popular film hit screens here and in the United States.

The film, which took a whopping RM332 million (US$87.6 million) at the box office in its North American debut at the weekend and a further RM205 million (US$54 million) in seven other key worldwide markets, is selling on the streets here between RM6 and RM10.

Peddlers admit, however, that "you get what you pay for", explaining that the movie was videotaped from inside a cinema and the quality and sound are poor.

"It usually takes a few more months for us to get better quality copies," they told AFP .

Hush-hush sale

Most stalls did not display the movie on their shelves. One salesman communicated with a colleague at a secret location via walkie-talkie to get a copy for customers.

This subterfuge follows a government crackdown on the piracy of everything from movies to computer software, involving surprise raids on factories, companies and peddlers in a bid to comply with World Trade Organisation regulations.

But the sellers say demand remains strong and they are prepared to risk fines of up to RM10,000 per illegal copy or three years in jail.

Business Software Alliance (BSA), a world software watchdog, has said that with a software piracy rate of 70 percent, the Malaysian software industry lost nearly RM360 million in retail revenue in 2001. AFP