The US-based Holleyman, on a visit to Southeast Asia, told a news conference he was visiting government officials to discuss anti-piracy efforts, such as strengthening copyright laws.

``Governments must recognise this and act quickly to implement policies and regulations to keep pace with the rapidly developing technology that has overtaken current enforcement structures,'' he said.

Internet laws had to be in place to ensure countries were ready for electronic commerce, he added.

In 1997, piracy cost the global software industry US $11.4 billion in lost revenue, BSA said in a statement.

Asia experienced an aggregate piracy rate of 52 per cent, costing a total of $3.9 billion in lost revenue, BSA said.

It said piracy translates into fewer jobs, less innovation and higher costs forconsumers.

Holleyman said spare capacity at manufacturing plants, caused by fallen demand from Asia's economic crisis, and corporations left to self-police in-house piracy, could aggravate the problem.

``If software piracy is allowed to exist alongside legitimate businesses, those markets are going to lag behind in the digital race,'' he said, arguing that piracy would suppress development and distribution of advanced software in those markets.

A Pricewaterhouse Coopers study commissioned by the BSA showed that by 2001 the software industry in non-US economies was projected to generate $117 billion in sales, 1.1 million jobs and $34 billion in tax revenue.

If piracy in Southeast Asia was reduced to the level of the current United States' piracy rate of 27 per cent, the software industry could create 46,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in tax revenue.

The study also showed that in Singapore the industry could create about 700000 jobs and $242 million in government revenue.

An increased level of lawenforcement by Singapore police in the last year was positive but ``modest,'' compared with the scope of the problem, Holleyman said.

``I would encourage Singapore to adopt the WIPO,'' he added, referring to the World Intellectual Property Organisation's treaty ratified in 1996 which protects intellectual property.