While the PR nightmare of Sony BMG Music Entertainment's use of spyware-like CD copy-protection technology has subsided for now, the legal ramifications continue to worsen.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott expanded his lawsuit against the music giant today, adding another controversial form of the software used by Sony BMG to the state's original lawsuit against the company. Abbott said the second form of antipiracy technology used by the label violates the state's spyware and deceptive trade practices laws.

"We keep discovering additional methods Sony used to deceive Texas consumers who thought they were simply buying music," Abbott said in a statement. "Thousands of Texans are now potential victims of this deceptive game Sony played with consumers for its own purposes."

Abbott sued Sony BMG in November, saying the world's second-largest music label surreptitiously included spyware on millions of CDs through its XCP technology, which installed itself onto a user's hard drive when a CD was loaded onto a computer. The software, which had been included on 52 Sony BMG titles, then hid itself and prevented the user from making more than two copies of the CD.

The second form of this technology, known as MediaMax and made by Sunncomm, was included on 27 Sony BMG titles, including Alicia Keys' Unplugged Usher's Confessions.

"These CDs open the door for malicious hackers to target consumers' computers. Hackers may be using the Sony files to install viruses, malware or even commit identity theft," Abbott warned. "Retailers that continue to sell these CDs may be just as liable under the law as Sony."

BMG officials have rejected the spyware comparison and said in a statement that they are working with Abbott's office and believe they can prove they have responded appropriately to his concerns.

"The security issues with MediaMax are not uncommon and are completely addressed by a software update which we already have made available, as is standard practice when problems with consumer software are identified," the label said.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation first publicized the similarities between the XCP software, which caused an online furor among digital rights and privacy advocates, and MediaMax.

Abbott said MediaMax violates Texas law because some versions secretly install files when the CD is inserted into a computer, before the consumer has a chance to accept or decline a license agreement. The files can lead to a security breach.

Sony BMG had quelledat least some of the fallout from the XCP problem by recalling the discs with XCP in November and introducing a way to remove the files from users' computers. Some 4.7 million CDs had been made with the technology and 2.1 million had been sold.