Japanese video game company Sega has confirmed reports that hackers stole the personal data of 1.3 million customers from its online gaming network.

In an email to users of the Sega Pass network, the company warned that emails addresses, dates of birth and encrypted passwords had been stolen.

However, it reassured them that "none of the passwords obtained were stored in plain text," he explains. "No personal payment information was stored by Sega as we use external payment providers, meaning your payment details were not at risk from this intrusion."

The company is the latest in a string of video games companies to suffer cyber attack in recent weeks. Other victims include console markers Sony and Nintendo and game developers Codemasters and Bethesda Softworks.

However, the LulzSec hacking group that has claimed responsibility for many of these attacks has denied involvement in the attack on Sega. In fact, it has offered its aid in finding those responsible.