SINGAPORE. Apr3 More than two million pirated compact discs, videos and other items were seized and at least 150 people were arrested during 700 raids in Singapore last year, officials said Tuesday, reports AP.

Authorities have stepped up ’actions against copyright-violating "pirated” goods, Singapore's Trade Development Board said.

Low-price pirated CDs, video discs and computer software on CD-ROMs have been openly sold in street stalls and shopping centres in Singapore in recent years despite the country's reputation for strict law enforcement.

In May. the United States put Singapore on its watchlist of 32 countries where intellectual property rights are deemed endangered.

Tne United States has since praised the Singapore government's efforts to enforce copyright laws, rather than leaving it to the private sector.

"We are not just working (against piracy) because we want to get ourselves off the watchlist, said Ng Kim Neo. a senior director in Singapore Trade Development Board, at a news conference Tuesday.

"Moving toward a knowledge-based economy, this is crucial to our own interests," she said.

Singapore, a prosperous country with no natural resources. has been trying to seize a niche in high-tech, information-based industries, rather than its previous staple of manufacturing.

The Hong Kong-based political and Economic Risk Consultancy last year rated Singapore as Asia's best country in terms of protecting copyrights.

But authorities face a tough battle due to the region's financial crisis, said the group's Singapore analyst, Bruce Gale.

'The problem is that, partly because of the slowdown, there's a lot more people willing to buy pirated stuff," Gale said.

The campaign includes posters reading "you deserve better. Be original. Buy original.'-’ and uses the message that buying pirated goods ultimately hurts the local entertainment and information industries.