It seems Microsoft failed to ram home the evils of theft to UK journalists last night.

The software giant tried its best with the assembled hacks at its anti-piracy evening at the Limelight Nightclub in London. It even enlisted the help of TV celeb Graham Norton to get its message across.

Norton hosted a game in which tables were given a treasure chest of high-street goods, and participants had to decide which were real and which were fake. Unfortunately for Microsoft, its spinmasters made the mistake of presenting cash-strapped journalists with genuine Levi and Gucci merchandise.

The temptation was just too great. Not only did the £50 jeans go walk-about, but one of the chests - an attractive Pirate design - also disappeared.

Not a bad haul for an anti-theft evening. ®