Microsoft has said that it will never forgive the million people it banned from its Xbox Live network.

Redmond cast a million users into outer darkness, there to gnash their teeth, for the crime of modding their Xboxes so that they could run pirated games. There had been some hopes that Microsoft would relent and eventually allow the modders back into the fold.

However according to a press statement, that is unlikely and the ban will be forever. The only way that banned Xbox users will be allowed back onto Xbox Live is if they buy a new Xbox and do not modify it. Users of banned Xbox consoles can recover their profile to another, unmodified Xbox 360 console to resume their Live service but the banned console will be unable to connect to Xbox Live.

Of course modified consoles will still work offline. Some have suggested that the move was timed to prevent people from playing pirated versions of the widely-anticipated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

We do not know how long it will take the modders to get around Microsoft's blocks. Probably next week.