Several forums, most of them on the shady side of the Internet where pirates congregate, are reporting that the PC and the Xbox 360 versions of Modern Warfare 2 have already been leaked or sold early by some retailers and that pirates have ripped the contents and are offering them online.

The leaks are unusual, given the fact that they are coming about one week before the November 10 official release date, when the title arrives for the PC, the Xbox 360 from Microsoft and the PlayStation 3 from Sony.

Microsoft and Activision have repeatedly warned that all players who are seen connecting to Xbox Live with leaked copies of Modern Warfare 2 before the official release date will be banned from the service and could also face legal action from the two companies. Of course, there are those who will ignore these warnings, as they did when Halo 3: ODST, one of the big releases of September, was leaked before the launch date and was played openly on Xbox Live.

Last week, a video appeared on the Internet, showing a gamer playing Modern Warfare 2 on an Xbox 360, loading up a level, apparently the fourth of the single player campaign, which involves the gamer joining terrorists as they assault an airport filled with civilians. Activision responded to the questions raised by some by saying that the sequence is optional.

The very existence of the video proves that some players already have access to the game but whether this is because some retailers have broken the street date or because some of the press copies have been leaked is not clear at the moment. Legitimate players who get the title early should probably abstain from using it on Xbox Live in order to avoid getting banned from the Microsoft service.