Stephen Toulouse, Director of Policy and Enforcement for Xbox LIVE and rabid Nemesis the Warlock fan, has taken to using his Twitter web presence to strike fear into the hearts of software pirates.

Pirates will face the consequences.

Specifically, those who boot up bootleg versions of Forza 3 long before the game actually goes on sale shouldn't be surprised when they get perma-banned: "You know, when you play a pre-release title on LIVE when I know you shouldn’t have it, it’s not hard for me to figure out." Without going into technical details, Toulouse also wants to assure gamers who cunningly obtained store-bought copies before the official street date that they won't be lumped in with the pirates: "Don't worry folks, anyone who bought a copy early is ok. In general, if you got a receipt, play away. These are illegit copies we're hitting."

Good to know.

His Twitter makes for entertaining reading – he also attempts to damn the PS3 exclusive Uncharted 2 with faint praise, pointing out that the game only runs at 720p. What a cheeky fellow...