A new virus has been reported spreading via e-mail through personal computers in Asia and Europe.

It has immobilised communications systems in banks and high-tech businesses, and has also hit the British and Danish parliaments and the Swedish government computer network.

The virus appears as an e-mail message entitled 'I love you'.

When the attached file is opened, the computer is prompted to forward the virus to every e-mail contact in the user's address book.

The volume of mail causes computers to crash, but experts say the virus doesn't corrupt files already on the computer.

The advice for Windows users finding a message headed 'I love you' is not to open it but to erase it using Shift-Delete.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service