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The study by the Business Software Alliance (BSA), an international association representing the global software industry covered 108 countries and was conducted independently by IDC.
However, the research comes as the BSA investigations in Australia have found a dramatic rise in the use of illegal software among WA companies struggling to keep up with the pace of expansion due to the booming mining sector.
In 2007, more than 50 per cent of all software piracy investigations in Australia involved Victorian companies.
Software piracy affects much more than just industry revenues. A BSA study released in January found that reducing software piracy could generate hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and billions of dollars in economic growth, while increasing tax revenues to support local programs and services.