Ten people suspected of online movie or film piracy have been indicted on criminal charges as the US cracks down on "warez" groups, federal officials said Thursday.

A 13-count indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in the Silicon Valley city of San Jose late Wednesday brought to 25 the number of suspected online copyright thieves charged as a result of "Operation Copycat."

The operation launched last year was part of a coordinated effort involving authorities in France, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Hungary, Israel, Spain, Australia, Singapore, Belgium, and Germany.

The US Department of Justice maintained that the defendants were involved in what is known as the "warez scene" - the trade in illegal software, games, movies and music online.

Warez refers to the practice of stripping copy protection out of software or music and film and making it available to others on the Internet.

AFP