] Concert tickets, DVDs and even laptops will be used to ] encourage users of the online bazaar known as Kazaa to ] swap legal files instead of pirated movies and music. ] ] The Peer Points Manager program announced Monday will ] essentially be Internet file-sharing's version of ] frequent flyer miles. ] ] Kazaa users earn points for making legal files available ] to others over the Internet. The points can be redeemed ] for small prizes like computer games or for sweepstakes ] entries to win larger items. ] ] The program is being run by Altnet, a Kazaa partner ] trying to promote sharing of legal files that can be ] limited in different ways by their creators, for instance ] songs that can only be played a certain number of times. ] ] Altnet distributes about 1,000 of such protected files ] for music, movies and software. Many of the songs ] available, however, are from obscure bands who aren't ] charging for the protected files anyway. ] ] Currently, when users search for files on Kazaa, they get ] "gold" listings of Altnet-sponsored items and "blue" ] listings of everything else, much of it pirated. Either ] way, users obtain files directly from a fellow user's ] computer. ] ] Kevin Bermeister, Altnet's chief executive, said users ] have been downloading about 20 million gold files each ] month, even though the blue versions are just a click ] away. An interesting and pragmatic approach to the P2P "problem". Laughing Boy USATODAY.com - Legal file-sharing 'rewards' to be offered |