The bug could cause up to $10bn damage

"What hurts is that I did not do it, and yet they are pinning me down," said Mr Ramones, an accounts graduate who works for the Equitable Bank.

"The problem here is I am not even fond of the Internet."

Criminal investigators seized a telephone, wiring and computer magazines but no computer from his home on Monday.

FBI hunt

The Love Bug virus, which created a flood of e-mails with the alluring subject line ILOVEYOU, is estimated to have caused up to several billion dollars of damage to computer systems worldwide.

Tackling the virus

Do not open it Delete it using shift del As with all e-mails, if in doubt do not run any attachments you are not expecting If you have run the attachment, isolate your machine from any network and phone your help desk or seek expert advice Remember to keep your anti-virus software up-to-date and be vigilant about attachments

FBI officials, who are helping the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) track down the programmers, are said to have found 10 coded names embedded in the virus.

The names are believed to have ties to the AMA Computer College, according to the NBI.

But they could be pseudonyms of a single person or just a few people.

A US computer security company, ICSA.net, said comparisons of the ILOVEYOU virus with a password-stealing programme written earlier this year indicated the author was a student at AMA Computer College.

Michelle Navarro, the school's dean of students, said she was unaware of any student having created a computer virus. She said the school had 10,000 students.

Relatives of Mr Ramones said he was innocent, adding that the virus could have been created by his girlfriend's brother or sister, both of whom live in the same apartment.

They said the sister graduated from AMA Computer College last year and the brother is a part-time student. Both are missing.

Damage

The FBI and Interpol helped track the virus to the Philippines through an electronic trail left by rogue e-mails.

Worldwide infection

5.8 million files worldwide 4.5m in North America 668,600 in Europe 358,100 in Asia 63,100 in Australia and New Zealand Source: Trend Micro Inc

Several variations appeared soon after the virus began spreading, one masquerading as an e-mail joke, another as a receipt for a Mother's Day gift.

E-mails infected with the Love Bug reached 45 million users and could cause up to $10bn dollars of damage, according to some estimates.

But the authorities are unsure if anyone can be prosecuted, because there is no specific law in the Philippines making the dissemination of computer viruses illegal.

The warrants for the search of Mr Ramones' and Ms de Guzman's apartment were granted on the basis of a suspected breach of the banking laws.

Experts say the virus is likely to engender more variants in the coming weeks.