Federal prosecutors say data from users of Megaupload could be deleted as soon as Thursday.

U.S. prosecutors blocked access to Megaupload and charged seven men, saying the site facilitated millions of illegal downloads of movies, music and other content.

The company says its millions of users stored their own data, including family photos and personal documents. They haven't been able to see their data since the government raids earlier this month, but there has been hope would be able to get it back.

Megaupload hires outside companies to store the data, for a fee. But Megaupload attorney Ira Rothken said Sunday that the government has frozen its money.

A letter filed in the case Friday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said storage companies Carpathia Hosting Inc. and Cogent Communications Group Inc. may begin deleting data Thursday. Spokespersons for the two companies and for the U.S. Attorney's Office did not respond to messages Sunday night.

The letter said the government copied some data from the servers but did not physically take them. It said that now that it has executed its search warrants, it has no right to access the data. The servers are controlled by Carpathia and Cogent and issues about the future of the data must be resolved with them, prosecutors said.

Rothken said the company is working with prosecutors to try to keep the data from being erased. He said at least 50 million Megaupload users have data in danger of being erased.

Rothken said that, besides its customers, the data is important to Megaupload so it can defend itself in the legal case. "We're cautiously optimistic at this point that because the United States, as well as Megaupload, should have a common desire to protect consumers, that this type of agreement will get done," he said.

Megaupload is based in Hong Kong. U.S. authorities said they had authority to act because some of its leased servers are in Virginia.

How much impact will the social media phenomenon have sports? Many famous sportsmen have adopted twitter as a means to get in touch with their fans. They no longer need to attend a press conference or to talk to a reporter to announce something. They do it wherever and whenever they want by updating their twitter status.

However, Mexico's Jaguares de Chiapas soccer players have taken a step forward and have included their twitter user's names on their soccer jerseys. They have also included @CervezaSol, their main sponsor, and twitter's characteristic bird, just the day they played their archrival Pumas Club Universidad Nacional AC.

The first prototype of the folding electric car Hiriko was unveiled on Tuesday in the headquarters of the Presidency of the European Union in Brussels.

European Union President Durao Barroso participated in the "Global Launch of Hiriko Driving Mobility", a large scale European social innovation initiative offering a systematic solution to major societal challenges: urban transportation, pollution and job creation.

The presentation was held at the headquarters of the European Commission and was attended by senior officials dealing with social innovation as well as representatives of regions and municipalities, the industry and investment sectors from all over the world. The Basque authorities, together with the group of entrepreneurs led by Jesus Echave also attended the meeting.

The Hiriko is a 100% electric and electronic two-seater, with four-wheel drive, capable of folding up for parking and is equipped with a state-of-the-art information system for permanent communication in an intelligent city environment.

The first units to come out of the plant at Vitoria-Gasteiz will be homologated before July as a previous step towards industrial production and commercialization, which is foreseen for 2013.

Several European and American cities will be the scenes for the initial trials in autumn this year of the first Hiriko cars. Trials begin in autumn this year in cities such as Bilbao and Boston.

The Hiriko Project , an initiative promoted by Afypaida and Denokinn with the collaboration of the MIT, targets to transform the initial concept of the “Citycar” and turn it into an innovating industrial Project consisting of the development of the initial prototype and its industrialisation by means o fan innovating production and distribution model.

The founder of file-sharing website Megaupload was ordered to be held in custody by a New Zealand court on Monday, as he denied charges of internet piracy and money laundering and said authorities were trying to portray the blackest picture of him.

Prosecutor Anne Toohey argued at a bail hearing that Kim Dotcom, a German national also known as Kim Schmitz, was a flight risk "at the extreme end of the scale" because it was believed he had access to funds, had multiple identities and had a history of fleeing criminal charges.

"The FBI believes the sums located are unlikely to represent all the overseas bank accounts owned by Mr Dotcom," she said.

But Dotcom's lawyer said he posed no threat of absconding or restarting his businesses, arguing that his client had cooperated fully, his passports had been seized and his funds frozen, and also that he had a distinctive appearance. "He is not the sort of person who will pass unnoticed through our customs and immigration lines and controls," said defence lawyer Paul Davison of the former hacker, reportedly 2 metres (6ft 6ins) tall and weighing more than 130 kg (285 lbs).

Judge David McNaughton said the bail application was too complicated for an immediate ruling, adding he would issue a written decision no later than Wednesday. "Given the breadth of issues covered in this bail application and the seriousness of the issues, I am going to reserve my decision," the judge said.

U.S. authorities want to extradite Dotcom on charges he masterminded a scheme that made more than $175 million in a few short years by copying and distributing music, movies and other copyrighted content without authorisation. Megaupload's lawyer has said the company simply offered online storage.

Prosecutor Toohey said two other men sought on global warrants for involvement in Megaupload had been arrested in Europe.

The shockwaves of the case appeared to be spreading among rival websites offering lucrative file-sharing. FileSonic, a website providing online data storage, said in a statement on its website that it had halted its file-sharing services.

"All sharing functionality of FileSonic is now disabled. Our service can only be used to upload and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally," it said.

Barricaded in safe room

Dotcom, 38, and three others, were arrested on Friday after New Zealand police raided his country estate at the request of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Police cut Dotcom out of a safe room he had barricaded himself in, because, according to his layer, he was frightened and panicked.

Presenting the case for flight risk, the prosecutor said 45 credit cards in three wallets were found in the mansion under Dotcom's various names, while three passports were also found. But his defence lawyer said: "My client collects them (credit cards), most of them are out of date."

Dotcom smiled and waved at around 20 supporters who filled the courtroom and spoke to them after the judge's decision. "Hey guys thanks for turning up, I appreciate it," he said, wishing a female supporter a "happy birthday".

Defence lawyer Davison said Dotcom was "realistic about what is happening". "He would obviously prefer to be at large. He doesn't want to be there any longer than he absolutely has to be," he told reporters outside the court.

Media reported that Dotcom ordered around NZ$4 million ($3.2 million) of renovations to the sprawling mansion that he leased near Auckland, with its manicured lawns, fountains, pools, palm-lined paths and extensive security.

The case is being heard as the debate over online piracy reaches fever pitch in Washington, where Congress is trying to craft tougher legislation.

Lawmakers stopped anti-piracy legislation on Friday, postponing a critical vote in a victory for Internet companies that staged a mass online protest against the fast-moving bills.

The movie and music industries want Congress to crack down on Internet piracy and content theft, but major Internet companies such as Google and Facebook have complained that current drafts of the legislation would lead to censorship.

Critics of the U.S. Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, and Protect IP Act (PIPA), quickly showed their opposition to the shutdown of Megaupload.com, with hackers attacking the public websites of the Justice Department, the world's largest music company Universal Music, and the two big trade groups that represent the music and film industries.

Dotcom's New Zealand lawyer Davison said in court that Megaupload's business was being misrepresented and authorities were being aggressive to add drama to the case. His business did not reproduce or copy material as alleged," he told the court, adding that copyright holders had been given access to Megaupload to identify improper posting of material. He likened the site to the popular YouTube video site, where people "promoted their creativity".

The U.S. government shut down the Megaupload.com content sharing website, charging its founders and several employees with massive copyright infringement, the latest skirmish in a high-profile battle against piracy of movies and music.

The Department of Justice announced the indictment and arrests of four company executives in New Zealand on Friday as debate over online piracy reaches fever pitch in Washington where lawmakers are trying to craft tougher legislation.

The movie and music industries want Congress to crack down on Internet piracy and content theft, but major Internet companies like Google and Facebook have complained that current drafts of the legislation would lead to censorship.

A Justice Department official said the timing of the arrests was not related to the battle in Congress. New Zealand police on Friday raided a mansion in Auckland and arrested Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, also known as Kim Schmitz, 37, a German national with New Zealand residency.

About 70 police, some armed, raided 10 properties and also arrested the website's chief marketing officer, Finn Batato, 38, chief technical officer and co-founder Mathias Ortmann, 40, both also from Germany, and Dutch national Bram van der Kolk, 29, who is also a New Zealand resident.

New Zealand police seized millions of dollars worth of assets, which included luxury cars such as a Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, from the group, dubbed the "Mega Conspiracy" by prosecutors. They also seized more than NZ$10 million ($8 million) from financial institutions.

"The FBI contacted New Zealand Police in early 2011 with a request to assist with their investigation into the Mega Conspiracy," said Detective Inspector Grant Wormald from the Organised & Financial Crime Agency New Zealand.

"All the accused have been indicted in the United States. We will continue to work with the U.S. authorities to assist with the extradition proceedings," Wormald said in a statement.

The men appeared briefly in an Auckland court on Friday and were remanded in custody until Monday for a bail hearing. "We have nothing to hide," Kim Dotcom said from the dock after his lawyer opposed media cameras in the court, reported New Zealand media.

Hackers retaliate

Vocal critics of the U.S. Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, and Protect IP Act (PIPA), quickly showed their opposition to the shutdown of Megaupload.com, with hackers attacking the public websites of the Justice Department, the world's largest music company Universal Music, and the two big trade groups that represent the music and film industries.

"The government takes down Megaupload 15 minutes later Anonymous takes down government & record label sites," a member of Anonymous said via Twitter.

Representatives with the Justice Department and Recording Industry Association of America declined comment on the attacks. Officials with Universal Music could not immediately be reached.

Motion Picture Association of America spokesman Howard Gantman said his group was working with law enforcement to identify the attackers.

The Mega Conspiracy group was accused of engaging in a scheme that took more than $500 million away from copyright holders and generated over $175 million in proceeds from subscriptions and advertising, according to the indictment unsealed on Thursday.

"In exchange for payment, the Mega Conspiracy provides fast reproduction and distribution of infringing copies of copyrighted works from its servers located around the world," the indictment said.

U.S. Justice Department officials said that the estimate of $500 million in economic harm to copyright holders was on the low end and likely significantly more. The allegations included copyright infringement as well as conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit racketeering.

Racketeering, money laundering

If convicted, the maximum penalties are 20 years for conspiracy to commit racketeering and to commit money laundering and five years for each count of copyright infringement and five years for conspiracy to commit copyright infringement.

The companies charged, Megaupload Ltd and Vestor Ltd, were both registered in Hong Kong and owned either in large part or solely by Dotcom. A lawyer who has previously worked with Megaupload was not immediately available for comment.

Megaupload has boasted of having more than 150 million registered users and 50 million daily visitors, according to the indictment. At one point, it was estimated to be the 13th most frequently visited website on the Internet.

Users could upload material to the company's sites which then would create a link that could be distributed. The sites, which included video, music and pornography, did not provide search capabilities but rather relied on others to publish the links, the indictment said.

Users could purchase memberships to the site to obtain faster upload and download services, the primary source of revenue. Material that was not regularly downloaded was deleted and financial incentives were offered for popular content, according to the charges.

The web page with the link to the copyrighted material would include advertisements, another source of revenue. If copyright holders complained about a specific link to the
website, prosecutors said that Megaupload.com would remove that link but scores of others existed to the same material, according to prosecutors.

Other material found uploaded included child pornography and terrorism propaganda videos, according to the indictment. The U.S. government's investigation began in March 2010.

The Finnish creator of the global smash-hit Angry Birds computer game will not join the stock market this year but still aims to eventually seek a listing, its marketing chief said on Thursday.

Angry Birds, in which players use a slingshot to attack pigs that try to steal the birds' eggs, has been downloaded more than 600 million times since its 2009 launch and turned small Finnish gaming firm Rovio into an enterprise valued at up to $9 billion.

Rovio executives had said it would seek an initial public offering (IPO) in New York or Hong Kong. "We are not in a rush. This year is way too early for an IPO, there are too many open things, and we are in a very early stage of the Angry Birds lifecycle," marketing chief Peter Vesterbacka told Reuters.

He said Rovio had not decided when or where to list. "Hong Kong is very interesting, absolutely, but again it is totally dependent on how markets develop. Asia is where all the people are, and future growth," he said.

Rovio is hoping to bring out new Angry Birds game titles this year, and to expand their reach so they can be played on a wider range of gadgets. "We had a very successful Christmas -- 6.5 million downloads just on Christmas Day," said Vesterbacka.