New Stones album leaked online

The first Rolling Stones studio album in eight years, A Bigger Bang, has been leaked on the internet just days before its official release next week.

Tracks from A Bigger Bang, the veteran rockers' first disc of all-new material since 1997's Bridges To Babylon, have been available to download on various internet sites since Monday.

While the leak has the potential to cost the Stones - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts - millions of dollars in lost revenue, industry insiders believe the poor quality of the bootleg tracks and closeness of the album's release date will combat the pirating.

A spokeswoman for the Stones' record company EMI has played down the leak: "The first low quality files of new Rolling Stones music were found illegally posted on Monday, the same day we began making the new album available for consumers to listen to via radio and streaming.

"It is actually a major achievement to keep an album secure until this close to the commercial release date."