Despite internet leak, new Chili Peppers disc is chart-topper

California rockers the Red Hot Chili Peppers have discovered that having a new album leaked online may notbe a bad thing.

Despite the leak, the band's latest album Stadium Arcadiumhas topped the latest Nielsen SoundScan music chart in the U.S. the first timefor the Los Angeles-based quartet in its 22-year history.

The new album has also topped music charts in Canada, across Europe and in Japan, Mexico and Israel, according to a spokesperson for the band.

In early May, the Chili Peppers discovered that the new album a double-disc and the group's first album since 2002's By the Way had been leaked onto the internetabout a week before its May 9 release date.

Bassist Flea spoke out on the band's website, pleading with fans not to download the pirated version.

"I cannot put in words how much this record means to us, how sacred the sound of it is to us and how many sleepless nights and hardworking days we all had thinking about how to make it be the best sounding thing we could," wrote Flea, whose real name is Michael Balzary.

"If you download it now you will be getting a pale imitation of the record."

A few days later, however, he posted a different message on the website's "Fleamail" section.

"The other morning when I found out our record had leaked, I freaked," he wrote.

He added that some "intelligent people" had suggested to him that many who download an album before its release are simply extremely eager fans who will buy the album when released but "cannot wait to hear it and are willing to hear a substandard version first."

Balzary concluded: "I understand and I would do the same thing. It just really scared me that people would be hearing somethingwithout the depth of sound that we strive for."

The band sold 442,500 copies of Stadium Arcadium in the U.S. last week, still a long way from its biggest commercial success, 1999's Californication, which sold more than five million copies.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are currently touring in Europe and will return later this summer for a North American tour. Canadian stops include Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City this fall.