But should the Welsh whizzkid who made a monkey out of the richest man in the world get six months in jail? We don't think so...

The young hacker who last week stole thousands of credit card numbers (including Bill Gates') and then posted them on the net faces a possible six months in jail, despite warning Microsoft that their system was leaky, and despite informing them of the stunt afterwards.

"I just wanted to prove how unsecured the sites are," Raphael Gray, 18, said after he was bailed. "In the past I've told sites that I have been able to access them but I've always been ignored." One of those ignoring him was Microsoft, he claims.

Future Gamer would never condone fraud or theft of any kind, but all the same, we can't help but have a sneaking admiration for the boy from the valleys who made a monkey out of the richest man in the world - and arguably did the rest of us a favour.

It would certainly be shocking if he was stamped on with the full force of the law, especially as Gates and co were forewarned, and the question will now have to be asked: how safe are our credit cards?

Besides, Gray himself didn't make a penny from the prank which cost businesses and credit card companies $3 million, and anyone who deals with a shock raid on their home in the way he did must be all right. "I knew the man was from the FBI," he told reporters, "because he spoke with an American accent and was wearing a trench coat..."