Chinese Film "Lust, Caution" Spreading Online Virus

Award winning director Ang Lee's spy thriller has a "hidden danger" which might put computers at risk of online virus if one tried to download the movie via the Internet.

At least hundreds of websites, online forums and blogs are themed "Lust, Caution" and about 15 per cent of them have been attacked by hackers and carry virus, official Xinhua news agency said.

Netizens who download the film are very likely see their computers hit by virus, it said.

Internet security experts say hackers spread online virus either by attacking some medium and small film download websites and putting virus into them or by using certain software to tie the film with virus.

As a rising number of Chinese download films from the Internet, the problem of hackers spreading the virus becomes "more thorny", they say.

Set in the World War-II era Shanghai, "Lust, Caution," starring mainland actress Tang Wei and Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai, is about a sexually-charged relationship between an undercover female student activist and a Japanese-allied intelligence chief.

The movie, titled "Se, Jie" in Chinese raked in $12 million in the first two weeks of release.

The explicit sex scenes were cut by seven minutes in the mainland version, which prompted movie goers in the southern province of Guangdong to cross the border to Hong Kong to watch the uncut film, local media said.

"Lust, Caution" has been given the restricted NC-17 label in the US, prohibiting viewers under the age of 17.