Los Angeles - Two young men who developed software that can cull the e-mail and IP addresses of MySpace users and allegedly tried to extort $150,000 from the company have pleaded no contest to charges of illegal computer access, the Associated Press reported on Monday.

Nineteen-year-old Shaun Harrison, and 20-year-old Saverio Mondelli, both of New York, reached a deal with prosecutors to avoid more serious charges that could have brought up to four years in prison.

Under their deal, the two will receive three years probation, do 160 hours of community service and pay MySpace $13,500 in restitution; they are also banned from MySpace and will be limited to one e-mail address each.

The two men claimed 85,000 users for its tracking software, which MySpace blocked upon learning of it.

Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey A. McGrath told AP that investigators have not determined how much MySpace member data that users of the software might have been able to cull, adding that there are similar services available that MySpace constantly seeks to shut down.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/36hnj4 (AP)