Paris Hilton is malware writer's choice

Celebrities are often used to invite users to click on a malicious link or attachment

Paris Hilton has topped the list of celebrities used by malware writers to tempt users into downloading a virus.

Security software firm McAfee last month looked at the number of web pages with malware embedded and at spam containing virus attachments.

Celebrities are often used to invite users to click on a malicious link or attachment, and McAfee has drawn up a top 10 list.

Hotel heiress Hilton is number one, followed by pop star Amy Winehouse and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.

The bulk of the list comprised pop stars and models, but seven times world motorbike champion Valentino Rossi made it to number six and French president Nicolas Sarkozy came in at ninth.

"The trend among malware writers is to use things that they think people will go to," said Greg Day, a security analyst at McAfee.

"Hilton was going through her jail fiasco at the time, while Sarkozy ranked so highly because of the French elections."

There were also some local choices that made the list. Swedish Crown Princess Madeleine Bernadotte was eighth due to her enormous popularity in the Nordic area, and Italian model Elisabetta Canalis also polled highly.