Authorities confiscated more than 35,000 pirated compact discs, DVDs and videotapes from stores in the capital last month, an official said Thursday. Chief Hanoi cultural inspector Tran Van Tung said the officials entered 770 music and video shops and found violations at 233, fining them a total of 105 million dong (dlrs 6,900). Bootlegged CDs are widely available in Vietnam for about 75 cents each, while DVDs can go for as little as dlrs 1.35.

Last year, authorities confiscated more than 60,000 pirated recordings, some locally made and some smuggled into the country. They netted fines of nearly 500 million dong (dlrs 32,900), Tung said.

Under a trade agreement ratified with Washington last year, Vietnam must protect U.S. intellectual property rights in return for low tariffs on its exports to the United States.