The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and China’s Public Security Bureau (PSB) have made a number of arrests in China following an investigation into an alleged software counterfeiting syndicate.

Authorities think the gang could be responsible for manufacturing and distributing more than $2bn (£1bn) worth of fake software, chiefly Microsoft products.

'Customs around the world, from Cairo to London, Vancouver to Hamburg, and New York to Beijing, seized dozens of shipments numbering thousands of counterfeit Microsoft software products produced by these criminals,' said World Customs Organisation secretary general Michel Danet.

The investigation traced more than 55,000 high-quality copies of bootleg software back to the same South China crime ring. But the haul is believed to constitute less than 1 per cent of the total copies that have been produced.

'The case represents a milestone in the fight against software piracy,' said Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel at Microsoft.