(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-11-19 06:30

BEIJING -- As Ang Lee's spy thriller "Lust, Caution" does roaring box office trade on the Chinese mainland, a new website virus that links to the film is on the attack, a Chinese anti-virus provider warned on Saturday.

Actress Tang Wei of China, Taiwan born director Ang Lee and actor Wang Lee-hom (L-R) pose for the media during a book signing event for Lee's new film "Lust, Caution" in Taipei September 24, 2007. A new website virus that links to the spy thriller is on the attack, according to Xinhua news agency. [Agency]

The virus, embedded in websites that provide online video or download services of "Lust, Caution", could be spread to personal computers if they download the movie or just click the link to take a look, security software producer Rising said. The virus can also attack other computers through infected flash disks and mobile hard disks.

According to company statistics, several hundred websites featuring "Lust, Caution" have been embedded with the virus as of Friday.

Computers attacked by the virus will find their screen has turned blue. Users may also lose their on-line game accounts, according to Rising.

Set in 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.

Through Thursday, the movie had taken in 90 million yuan (about 11.25 million U.S. dollars) on the Chinese mainland since it opened on November 1. Local cinema companies predicted the box office gross for the film would top 100 million yuan "several days later".

Lee's movie, called "Se, Jie" in Chinese, has been a hot topic in the mainland media and among the public long before its official screening here due to 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 a mainland release, Lee, the Academy Award winning director of "Brokeback Mountain", cut about seven minutes from the film.

The official DVD of "Lust, Caution" won't be released until the end of this year, according to a previous report.