The private-eye tactics used in the software industry intrigue disclosed on Tuesday underlined the high-stakes corporate competition that can in some cases boil over into plots befitting a corporate James bond.

R. James Woolsey, President Bill Clinton's first CIA chief, said the biggest spy threat to US Corporations came not from one another but from foreign intelligence organisations working on behalf of their countries' companies.

Whether it's using sex or stealing briefcases while you're out at dinner, US business people, particularly those in high technology with military applications, were often targets when travelling abroad, he said in a telephone interview.