Fake sex tapes win for beauty queen
A former Miss West Virginia has won a 7.2 million dollar (£4.9m) verdict against nine internet companies which tried to sell pornographic videos they falsely claimed featured her.
A jury in US District Court in Clarksburg ordered each defendants to pay Allison Williams $800,000 (£544,000) for damaging the 2003 beauty queen's reputation and invading her privacy.
Her attorney is appealing against US District Judge Irene M Kelley's decision to dismiss the case against 28 other defendants.
The firms - based in the US, Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Cayman Islands, Canada and South Africa - allegedly took part in distributing the bogus videos.
The videos, which surfaced in the Autumn of 2004, show a woman falsely claimed to be Miss Williams engaged in sex in the back of a television news truck.