Aaarrggh, Matey!

Keel-haul the copyright holders!:

A POLITICAL party that represents internet pirates has been voted into the European Parliament.

Sweden's Pirate Party wants to deregulate copyright, abolish the patent system and reduce surveillance on the internet.

It captured 7.1 per cent of Swedish votes in the Europe-wide ballot – enough to win it a seat.

"This is fantastic," said the party's top candidate, Christian Engstrom.

"This shows that there are a lot of people who think that personal integrity is important and that it matters that we deal with the internet and the new information society in the right way."