The owner of a music store in Malta, Grace Borg, has lashed out at the authorities for not doing enough to battle the piracy of CDs.

Addressing a meeting on illegal downloading and pirate products, Ms Borg complained that people who were found guilty of circulating pirated CDs and DVDs were being "let off with just a slap on the wrist".

She said those shops trading in legally acquired products were "slowly but surely" finding it harder to remain afloat and would eventually have to close shop.

Visual and Sound Communications Ltd, which issued a statement about the meeting, said the law must be enforced and those repeatedly found guilty should have their trading licence revoked.

On the issue of the illegal downloading from the internet, Ms Borg argued that internet service providers had to play a part to prevent abuse.

She said there were a number of things that could be done to block these sites, such as protocol and port blocking, bandwidth capping and shaping among other things.

"One must always remember it is a well known fact this illegal activity helps finance money laundering, drugs and terrorism," the company said.

"The irony of this local situation is that stalls with pirate products displayed are positioned next to the side entrance of the Presidential Palace in Valletta (picture), which for the time being is being used as the main entrance while Palace Square is being refurbished."