Love Bug may have caused damage worth more than One Bn Dlr

Reports say that virus was possibly accidently introduced by someone using a floppy district containing the bug.

The revelation came as investigators in Manila in Philippines were trying to locate the person who wrote the virus programme. He is belived to be twenty-three year old and perhaps used an internet e-mail card, which is like phone card.

The card can be bought anywhere in the Philippines and the internet access is denied as soon as the money runs out.

Thus the identity of the user remains anonymous and he can be located only from the phone number which he uses to send the messages.

American officials were quoted as saying that less than one per cent of the network of the Agency, which is under the Department of Defence, was infected.

Another classified system infected on Friday was one which connects several security agency and is called "Joint Worldwide Information Communication System." The officials said the virus has now been contained in all systems and that no senstive information was lost. ABC television network reported two classified e-mail systems at the National Reconnaissance Office, which builds and operates the nation’s spy satellites, also were infected.

They were infected by an e-mail orginating from another agency, but the viruses had no impact on reconnaissance operations, an NRO official said.

The systems had to be temporarily closed down to becoming and outgoing e-mail traffic and the viruses were eliminated, the official said.

The network reported that a Pentagon service that distributes news clippings was passing the virus around the military on Thursday.

Even Secretary of Defense William Cohen was temporarily unable to receive unclassified e-mail on Thursday.