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The suits allege copyright infringement and were filed after Microsoft conducted a series of test purchases from suspected companies. After subsequent analysis of the software supplied, Microsoft notified any offending distributors and told them how to get hold of legitimate Microsoft software.

The company said it also received numerous complaints about counterfeit Windows distributors through its anti-piracy hotline.

It says it has a duty of care to both its genuine resellers and end-customers to weed out counterfeit activity. This helps ensure that resellers compete on a level playing field rather than against cut-price counterfeiters and that end-users can be sure their software

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works properly and that malicious code hasn't been included.

'Today's announcement is part of an ongoing, programmatic effort by Microsoft to level the playing field for our partners,' said John Ball, general manager for US Local OEM Business at Microsoft, which works with businesses that manufacture computers. 'Ultimately, our goal is straightforward: To make sure that fair business practices prevail and that consumers get what they pay for and what they deserve when they purchase Microsoft software.'

The legal action forms part of Microsoft's Genuine Software Initiative. Last month, the company fired off a volley of 20 or so similar suits in the US and another 26 antipiracy suits in July. It also has teams monitoring activity on online auction sites such as eBay.

Most controversial, however, is its roll out of the Windows Genuine Advantage software, which is distributed via Automatic Update and once installed checks over the copy of Windows on the system being scanned to see if it is the real thing. Following claims that the software constituted spyware, Microsoft subsequently faced a class-action suit over the matter.