U2 CD AWOL in France

Says manager Paul McGuinness: "The recording of this album has been going so well. The band is so excited about its release. It'd be a shame if unfinished work fell into the wrong hands."

Those sentiments are echoed by the Chairman of Universal Music in the UK, Lucian Grainge, who states that, "This matter is of great concern to us. As the missing CD is our property we're very keen to find it as soon as possible. The French police are being extremely helpful in this regard."

Meanwhile, How To Deconstruct An Atomic Bomb is being mooted as another possible title for the new U2 album which is due in September. Christian singer Michael W. Smith has revealed that Bono ran it past him when they met recently at the launch of the One Campaign in Philadelphia.

Having asked Smith "how do you deconstruct a nuclear bomb?" and got "I don't know?", Bono apparently answered, "Love. With love."

As reported last month on hotpress.com, the other potential title that's being bandied around in U2 fan circles is Vertigo.