Julia Roberts sexes down UK PCs

A new variant of the highly destructive MyLife worm has been detected and is deleting data from computers across the UK.

The worm arrives in an attachment that purports to offer pictures of Julia Roberts or Colombian pop singer Shakira.

But when executed the worm checks the PC clock and, if the number of minutes past the hour is 50 or more, the worm activates.

It deletes all of the vital SYS files from the Windows folder, all files from the Windows system folder and all files and folders from drives D, E and F. It also attempts to mail itself to all email addresses in Outlook.

"It's not a big scale epidemic but carries a very nasty payload," said Graham Cluley, senior analyst at antivirus specialist Sophos.

"We've had several reports of this causing a problem for a few users, primarily in the UK. We're still confused as to why people fall for such a simple trick; purported celebrity pictures is hardly a new tactic."

Virus definitions from major software vendors now include details of the new virus and users are advised to update immediately. The original MyLife worm was first detected in March 2002.