The Italian Senate has fallen victim to a computer worm which has been exploited by malicious hackers to upload hardcore gay porn onto PC monitors across the organisation.

According to reports, the upper house of the Italian Senate in Rome ground to a halt as it was hit by one of the many variants of the Rbot worm.

The Rbot family includes remote control functionality which allows hackers to gain access to infected computers, steal information and in some cases monitor computer users via their webcams.

First noticed on Monday 22 November, computers in the Senate chamber and every senators' office were said to have been affected by Tuesday morning.

According to Italian media speculation, the incident may have been in retaliation to the recent dismissal of Dario Mattiello, the assistant to the Senate's vice president, after photographs were distributed showing him at a gay nightspot in Rome.

Last week, gay groups held a sit-down protest outside the Senate building angered by Mattiello's dismissal.

"Mattiello's firing has angered some in the gay community, but it is impossible to say yet if it was the motive for this attack," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at antivirus firm Sophos.

"Whatever their motives, hackers have shown a bare-faced cheek by planting these homosexual images at the heart of Italy's political establishment."

Further information about the Rbot worms can be found here.