A Dutch U2 fan on holiday in France overheard, and recorded, four tracks from the new U2 album and stuck them on YouTube.

The fan was walking on the beach when he heard the music blasting from a window of Bono's villa. He recorded them on a mobile phone and later put them online.

The tracks were available on YouTube, but seem to have disappeared now.

The album, No Line on the Horizon, is due for release later this year.

U2's manager Paul McGuinness is likely to be unimpressed. He has been highly critical of companies like Apple and ISPs which he described as providing "burglary kits" allowing people to steal music. ®