The students, two Australians aged 19 and 20, and one 20-year-old Malaysian were accused of running a website hosting digital music and video files which are copyrighted. They used university computers to host the files, which allegedly cost the music industry roughly $37 million to $44 million.

Australian Federal Police official Tony Negus said the site contained links to hundreds of MP3 and other digital files of music albums and singles.

"It's a tremendous result and represents a turning point," said Michael Speck, general manager of the Australian music industry's piracy investigations unit, which played a major role in the case.

"It's a clear message to Internet pirates that they can no longer hide behind the mythology of the Internet. It's now revealed as nothing more than another form of theft," he continued.

The Australian Federal Police said the defendants had been released on bail and would appear in court in mid-May.

Australian penalties for copyright infringement include up to five years in jail or a $37,000 fine.