By Alasdair Sandford

French MPs who have already voted once to legalise the online sharing of music and films are to consider the matter again next week.

In December they backed a move to allow internet users to download as much material as they want in exchange for a small fee.

If it becomes law France would be the first country to authorise the swapping of copyrighted music.

The surprise vote caused outrage among record companies and film producers, who say illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) copying costs their industries millions of euros every year.

It was an embarrassing defeat for the government, which had planned to introduce large fines and possible jail terms of up to three years for internet pirates.

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