A Microsoft survey has found that around 33 per cent of people in Britain are happy using pirated software as they say pirated software id fine.

However, they are unaware of the fact that pirated software can cause virus attacks and identity theft.

The study found that 1 in 8 employed adults use illegal software at work, with 57 per cent of those said their boss would not consider the practice objectionable. One in 6 respondents use pirated computer programs either at home or at work.

Microsoft said that around 60 per cent people know more about the risks of downloading pirated music or films than about dangers of using pirated software.

The study revealed that illegal software had infected the computers with viruses in 62 per cent of cases, while computers crashed in 38 per cent of cases. In 31 per cent of cases people lost their personal data.

The Microsoft Attitudes to Piracy report has published ahead of the passing of the Digital Economy bill which aims at tackling the soaring problem of online piracy in Britain.