Submitted by: jw on Wednesday February 16th, 2005 at 04:33 PM EST

An Italian DJ has been fined a record 1.4 million euros ($1.8 million) for using thousands of pirate music files in a nightclub near Rome, police said on Wednesday.

"For the MP3 files, which were kept on the DJ's personal computer, the DJ has received a fine of 1.4 million euros," Rieti finance police said in a statement.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said the fine was the biggest ever slapped on an individual for unlawful music copying and the use of copyrighted music in the MP3 format.

Source: AP