Los Angeles - Sony Pictures Entertainment said on Wednesday that, contrary to news reports, an investigation by the company has found no pirated DVD copies of its forthcoming "Spider-Man 3" film in China, or on the Internet.

Reuters and other outlets had reported seeing $1 DVDs bearing "Spider-Man 3" branding in Beijing, but the discs did not contain authentic copies of the film, which opens in theaters on May 1.

"Similar hoaxes and false alarms have occurred prior to the release of other major films," Sony Pictures said in a statement.

"We have uncovered examples of Spider-Man 2 being sold in Spider-Man 3 boxes in China. But thus far we can find no instance where Spider-Man 3 has appeared on DVD."

Furthermore, Sony said it has not detected the film on Internet file-sharing networks. "After an initial investigation of online sites worldwide, we have so far found no pirated copies of Spider-Man 3 on the Internet," Sony said.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/22z8xe (Sony statement)

http://tinyurl.com/yo2rmx (DMW previous coverage)

http://tinyurl.com/3aafcq (Reuters)