Hotmail falls to Code Red

Microsoft's servers infested by the worm...

Microsoft's web-based email client Hotmail has become the latest victim to be notched up by the Code Red worm.

The software giant confirmed late yesterday that a number of MSN servers had been removed from action after being infected by the malicious code.

A spokeswoman for Microsoft said no user data was compromised and added: "All users should still be able to access the Hotmail service in a secure fashion."

It is still not clear at present which variant of the Code Red bug hit Hotmail, or whether it was a direct consequence of the new layout changes of the 110 million user email service.

Telecoms firm Qwest also reported a number of disruptions to US users of its high-speed internet service after its network was slowed by the amount of data being sent out by the infected machines of its customers who had failed to install a patch.