Stockholm- Defence lawyers in Stockholm on Tuesday rejected calls for year-long jail terms and damages against four men accused of operating a website which allows illegal file sharing.

In what is seen as a test case in Sweden, the four defendants are accused of violating copyright infringements by allowing the site to be used to swap films and music.

But lawyer Per Samuelson said the Pirate Bay website was one of thousands of file-sharing services that could be used for both legal or illegal means.

"The charges were really brought against the operation, not the defendants," Samuelson said.

Stockholm  - A Swedish prosecutor Monday called for one-year jail terms against four men accused of operating a popular website which violates copyright laws by allegedly allowing illegal file sharing.

According to the prosecution, the Pirate Bay website netted the four defendants at least 10 million kronor (1.1 million dollars) in one year alone.

Defendants Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundstrom all deny the charges. The defence was on Tuesday scheduled to present its arguments.

Lawyer Monique Wadsted, who represented several Hollywood studios, concluded the proceedings Monday calling for "tougher punishments" saying the website operated on a large scale.

Stockholm  - Citing a "state of emergency" in the Swedish economy, an influential Swedish blue-collar union announced Monday it has agreed to cut wages for its members to save jobs.

The Swedish economy is currently undergoing "the worst crisis we have experienced," Stefan Lofven, head of IF Metall, comprising the Swedish Industrial Workers' and the Swedish Metal Workers' Union, told reporters.

Lofven cited a Statistics Sweden statement on Friday that said the Swedish economy had contracted 4.9 per cent in the fourth-quarter 2008, which he described as one of "the largest declines" in recent history.

Stockholm - A Swedish prosecutor Monday called for one-year jail terms against four men accused of operating a popular website which violates copyright laws by allegedly allowing illegal file sharing.

According to the prosecution, the Pirate Bay website netted the four defendents at least 10 million kronor (1.1 million dollars) in one year alone.

Defendants Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundstrom all deny the charges.

Stockholm - Moves by Swedish heavy-vehicle maker Volvo to raise bonuses to top managers while planning to slash thousands of jobs in its Swedish home-base have been slammed by, among others, Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.

"This is provocative considering that the company has problems," Reinfeldt said late Sunday in an interview with Swedish television news programme Agenda.

Stockholm - Carl Larsson, whose work seems to represent a harmonious Sweden, is the subject of a new exhibition including many of his iconic images of his family at work and play.

In all some 100 works by Larsson (1853-1919) ranging from sketches to water colours and oils are on display at Prince Eugen's Waldemarsudde, an art museum on the Stockholm waterfront on the Djurgarden island.