The Pirate Bay is to be bought for $7.8 million by Global Gaming Factory X, a Swedish company specializing in internet café management software, the company has announced. As well as taking over the controversial brand, GGF has also bought Peerialism, a small IT company with roots at Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology, which has developed a new file sharing technology. The acquisitions mean that GGF will be at the heart of 'the international digital distribution market,' allowing it to introduce a new pay model for file sharing.

Update: Global Gaming Factory have confirmed (according to Dagens Nyheter, a respected news outlet in Sweden) that "Users of The Pirate Bay will have to pay to download music and movies. Those who seed material will be able to profit from doing so."