SKorea reports Bin Laden virus

A computer virus named after Osama bin Laden is reported to have appeared in South Korea.

A local software company Ahnlab specialising in antivirus programmes said it posted a virus alert on its website after being informed by a personal computer user that he had received a contaminated e-mail.

The virus spreads by mailing copies of itself to addresses stored in the computer's messaging system; it slows down the computer and makes data vulnerable to leaks.

The anti-virus company, said it had no idea who had created the virus.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service