File sharing on the internet was given a voice today after the Pirate Party was approved to stand by the Electoral Commission at the next general election.

According to the party's official blog, the enthusiastic support for the party had blinded the members to the truth of there being no party in the first place, though one was created out of the momentum it gained.

It continued: "The Pirate Party UK existed only as an idea. But now it is real and here to stay for as long as it is needed. At the end of last month, the Electoral Commission confirmed the registration."

Sister parties in Sweden and Germany have already been formed, mainly in response to the media furore surrounding The Pirate Bay (thepiratebay.org), a part-membership website which allows file sharing throughout the world.

A decision by the Swedish courts to sentence Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij and Carl Lundstrom - all founder members of The Pirate Bay - to one year in jail each caused a lot of outrage on the internet in April, though the website is still up and running.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent).