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A spokesman for Susan Schwab, the US Trade Representative, said that as long as Allofmp3 and similar sites continue to operate, Russia would not be admitted to the World Trade Organisation.

"We remain committed to helping Russia make it into the WTO," says spokesman, Sean Spicer. "In order to make that happen though, they have to honour the commitments that they've made especially in the area of intellectual property rights."

The AllofMP3 website returned last weekend with a promise to restore its cut-price music sales in the near future. The site had been closed down by the Russian authorities in July.

An AllofMP3 representative repeated its assertion that it is a Russian business that operates quite legally within Russian law.

"Furthermore, it is irresponsible to use AllofMP3.com as a negotiating instrument in an attempt to extract concessions from Russia in return for US support for accession to the World Trade Organisation," the representative claims.