Spanish agency says Shakira-Pique photos hacked

The Associated Press, Tuesday, February 22, 2011, 7:22am (PST)

MADRID (AP) -- A Spanish photo agency says coveted shots of Shakira holding hands with Barcelona football player Gerard Pique that are circulating on the Internet had been stolen by a computer hacker.

The agency Gtres-Online and other agencies had been planning to sell these photos to Spanish and other publications as exclusives.

Gtres-Online sales director Manuel Montero told the AP Tuesday the photos taken by paparazzi were stolen by a hacker, probably from a temporary Internet file that agencies like his use.

Montero said the shots of the couple outside a Barcelona restaurant were then downloaded onto a Shakira fan website called Shakira Gallery.

Rumors that the Colombian singer and the member of Spain's World Cup winning team were an item surfaced during last year's tournament in South Africa.