Ananova:

Canadian band Barenaked Ladies are getting their own back on internet users who download their music for free.

They have flooded the file-sharing Napster site with bogus copies of their work which, once downloaded, turn into an advertisement for the band's new album.

The imposter tracks begin with a sample of the expected song then break off into a marketing pitch and sounds of the band engaging in banter, reports the CBS website.

Singer Steven Page can be heard in one download telling users: "Although you thought you were downloading our new single, what you actually were downloading is an advertisement for our new album."

Drummer Tyler Stewart can be heard in one clip to add: "We fooled you huh? We're sneaky like that."

The band's manager Terry McBride explained the tactic: "We give you a big enough chunk so that if you like it, hopefully you'll go out and buy it. We knew that tracks were going to end up on Napster so why not have some fun with it."

Barenaked Ladies are just the latest group to voice their objections to file-sharing software such as Napster, which allows the public to download copyrighted music, fast and for free.

Napster has been embroiled in a long-running dispute with the music industry which culminated in a US federal judge ordering them to shutdown in July. It has since been reopened pending an appeal.

With the emergence of copycat software such as Scour and Gnutella, the problems of filesharing are likely to persist for sometime.

The tactics used by Barenaked Ladies could become more widespread as other bands realise they may been unable to prevent their music from being available free on the internet by legal means.