Investigators in the Philippines have released the man suspected of creating the 'ILoveYou' computer virus because they lack enough evidence to hold him, according to reports late today.

Reonel Ramones, a 27-year-old bank employee, was released by a judge after hours of questioning by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) officials. He has been charged with violating the Access Devices Regulation Act, which deals primarily with passwords for credit cards. Computer hacking is not a crime under Philippine law.

NBI officials, who are investigating the case in the Philippines, are going through evidence seized during a search of Ramones' apartment. According to reports, investigators removed a box with 17 items, including computer magazines, telephones, diskettes, wires and tape cassettes. It is still unclear whether or not any PCs were seized.

Ramones' girlfriend, 23-year-old Irene de Guzman, did not show up for questioning as promised and a summons will now be sought to arrest her.

The apartment had been under NBI surveillance since Saturday after it was linked to the virus through ISP logs and caller identification. However, authorities were unable to search the apartment because investigators could not get a search warrant until Monday.

Earlier, police in the Philippines said they believed that 10 people with connections to a Manila computer school may have been involved in the creation of the worm, which created havoc around the world's email system last week.

Law enforcement officials believe the virus is actually a scam designed to get the originator free internet access.

When activated, the virus overwrites files, replicates itself, accesses a program that searches for log-in names and passwords, and then emails them to a perpetrator who could then use any victim's internet account.

Damage from the virus and its variants has already reached about $5bn and could amount to $10bn, according to US researcher Computer Economics.