Microsoft is investigating how two internal training videos created by UK comedy duo Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have surfaced on the internet.
The humorous videos are titled "The Office Values" and were made three years ago for Microsoft for training purposes. The pair agreed to write and appear in them, on the condition they were never made public. Although Microsoft did confirm their existence in 2004, it refused at the time to release any details.
A spokeswoman for Gervais explained the comedian was concerned the appearance of the videos could make fans think he had reversed his decision to retire the Brent character for good.
She said: "Microsoft is looking into how and why these videos have appeared on the internet," adding that Gervais will not be seeking damages from the software giant: "Unfortunately these things happen but it"s Microsoft"s responsibility to let us know how it got out."
Microsoft"s UK press office declined to say how the videos had reached the public domain, or whether it had forced any websites to stop hosting them.