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Yesterday police officers searched 130 premises to gather evidence following an investigation that has lasted several months.

Under German law the alleged sharers face both criminal prosecution and claims for compensation under civil law. Damages could total several thousand euros for sharing, at most, 8,000 files on the eDonkey network.

Physical music sales have fallen by a third in Germany over the past five years, a fall that the industry attributes largely to the impact of file sharing.

John Kennedy, chairman and chief executive of International Federation of Phonographic Industries said that the music industry's numerous education campaigns mean that there is no excuse for 'stealing' music online.

'I am pleased that the

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German authorities recognise the serious impact of copyright crime and are taking action against it,' he said. 'Internet piracy has hurt the whole music community in Germany, with legitimate sales falling by a third in just five years. The victims are investment in music and everyone who makes a livelihood out of the music industry.'

He said that no-one should be surprised by the escalation of legal action.

'Most people clearly know that file-sharing without permission is illegal - unfortunately it takes legal actions such as this to make a real impact on behaviour,' he said.

According to the IFPI's own figures the number of people in Germany buying music from services such as iTunes now exceeds the number engaged in file sharing, while the level of sales has stabilised. There is no evidence that these legal actions will make any difference - they certainly have not affected p2p usage levels anywhere else.

p2p.net said that the music business is using the police as 'industry cops'.

'National police forces around the world are suborned at tax-payer expense to conduct "operations" with industry faux police working alongside them,' it said.