Halo 2 leaked

AGENTS FOR Microsoft are investigating how its forthcoming Halo 2 game was pirated and distributed on the Internet nearly a month before it hit the shops.

Vole's worldwide security services are apparently on the tail of the pirates, pausing only for martinis (shaken not stirred) and Pussy Galore.

In a communiqué from Vole HQ, in Redmond, Microsoft said it was investigating the leak, adding that it was "aggressively pursuing the source of this illegal act".

Halo 2 is due to go on sale worldwide in the second week of November, but at the start of this week, the game's makers Bungie Studios said work on the title was complete and the game was ready to go into production.

Soon afterwards a European version of the game on DVD, which is almost three gigabytes in size and the game play is apparently in French, hit the web.

Microsoft said that it is keen to shut the leak down. However, the leak has created a bit of a stir in the battle scarred security department of Vole.

Halo 2's code was supposed to be protected so that there would be no way to distribute it. Vole is adamant that there was no way you would be able to run the hacked version of Halo 2 without illegally modifying your X-Box and you certainly would not be able to take the game online, which is one of the best parts about it, apparently. µ