Director Ang Lee's spy thriller Lust, Caution has been proved not only a box office hit, but a "hidden danger" which might put computers at risk of online virus if someone tried to download the movie via the Internet.

At least hundreds of websites, online forums and blogs are themed "Lust, Caution". About 15 percent of them have been attacked by hackers and carry virus, according to Saturday's the Beijing Evening News.

If netizens download the film from those websites, forums and blogs, their computers are very possible to be hit by virus and their QQ password and other online codes might be stolen.

Internet security experts say there are two ways for hackers to spread online virus linked with "Lust, Caution". They attack some medium and small film download websites and put virus in the websites directly. Or they use certain software to tie the film with virus.

Many viruses can be spread via USB device and other hardware.

Internet security experts warn that as an increasing number of Chinese get accustomed to downloading films from the Internet, the problem of hackers spreading virus is more thorny.

Set in World War-II era Shanghai, Lust, Caution, starring Chinese 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.

Lee's movie, called Se, Jie in Chinese, has been a hot topic in the Chinese mainland media and among the public long before its official screening here due to its bold sex scenes. The movie has been given the restricted NC-17 label in the United States, banning viewers under 17.

In order to get approval for the Chinese mainland release, Lee, the Academy Award winning director of Brokeback Mountain, cut about seven minutes from the film. Despite being shorn of some sexual scenes, the film's Chinese mainland version still won acclaim among most viewers.

(Xinhua News Agency November 18, 2007)