HONG KONG (AFP) -- A long campaign to remove pirated goods from shop fronts in Asia is finally having an impact but the crackdown has also changed the nature of the problem and new outlets are flourishing.

The results of police raids, a slate of new laws and increased prosecutions can be seen across the region on the back streets of Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore and to a lesser extent Phnom Penh and Hanoi.

For example, not too long ago outside Beijing's notorious and now closed down Silk Alley lane, any visitor would be mobbed by hawkers of every kind offering the latest films and music for as little as one dollar a pirated disc.

On a recent visit, not a one was to be seen.

The success in forcing the pirates at least off the street if not out of the market follows intense pressure from the United States and the West on Asian governments to clean up their act.

He is proud of his Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Police Team which in 2005 cracked 4,783 piracy cases and arrested 5,469 people, up significantly on the previous year. "Copyright infringement and piracy have improved due to daily raids on night markets," he said. "But it is still challenging."

To counter the authorities, black market buccaneers are shifting their goods from roadside stalls and shopping malls to the Internet -- Su's team now also conducts "daily patrols of Internet sites".

His point was echoed by industry observers in Mumbai and Seoul, where much like Bangkok and Jakarta, it's business as usual with counterfeit products brazenly on display in the tourist precincts.

Mahesh Bhatt, a Bollywood film producer, likened the campaign to the battle against terrorism and drug trafficking, saying authorities are incapable of policing the problem.

"Man has stepped into the digital age," he said. "If it has to be rooted out it will have to be through technology. "Pirates today are faster than manufacturers."