A global music industry group has filed 8,000 lawsuits against alleged illegal file-sharers around the world in an effort to discourage online piracy.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) on Tuesday said it had filed suits in 17 countries, including the first such actions in Brazil, Mexico and Poland, Reuters reports. The group representing the world's music companies said last year 1 billion music tracks were illegally downloaded in Brazil, where it said music labels' revenue has declined to nearly half what it was in 2000.

The industry has filed about 18,000 lawsuits in the U.S. and 13,000 in the rest of the world. IFPI claims some 20 billion songs were illegally downloaded worldwide in 2005.

The charges - criminal and civil - target uploaders of music, including parents whose children had been illegally sharing files.