Intel boss blasts Hollywood

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is holding back the development of fair use standards for consumer electronic devices, according to Intel chief executive Craig Barrett.

Speaking at the Intel Developer Forum Barrett said he believed that government, the electronics industry and the Recording Industry Association of America had reached agreement on standards for allowing fair use of digital media without encouraging piracy, but that the MPAA was holding up the process.

"It's a battle," he said. "I'd like to say Mr Valenti [Jack Valenti, chief executive of the MPAA] is my friend, but at the moment the organisation is split between the extreme wing, made up of Disney and Fox, and the rest."

Ever since the rise of Napster, industry and the US government have been trying to find a way of curbing the spread of media theft while at the same time ensuring that digital media purchased by consumers can be played on a variety of devices.

Yesterday the most popular file sharing application, Kazaa, had 6.3petabytes of music, films and software offered for users to share, as well as material with concealed viruses and other malware.

Defending the MPAA Scott Dinsdale, the organisation's executive vice president of digital standards, said: "What's going on now isn't piracy, it's looting."

The MPAA estimates the total amount lost to illegal content theft to be more than $3bn (£1.9bn), and that the figure is much higher if internet content is included.