Man charged in tsunami death e-mail probe

British police have charged a man with sending hoax e-mails to relatives of people missing since the Asian tsunami saying their loved ones had been confirmed dead, reports Reuters.

The hoaxer, claiming to be from the Foreign Office Bureau in Thailand, targeted people who had placed appeals for information about relatives and friends on the Web site of Sky News.

The man was charged with malicious communication and causing a public nuisance.

"The British government would not use e-mail to convey news of the death of a loved one," police said.

Apple Computer could decide to sell a lower-priced version of its iMac computer to attract consumers, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said last week.

According to a Reuters report, Munster believes Apple could sell an iMac priced at $500.

"We believe that it is not out of the question that Apple would try to capitalise on this opportunity with a more widely accessible product," said Munster.

Apple was not available to comment.

Panda Software says the Downloader.GK Trojan was responsible for 14% of all attacks on computer systems last year, according to TechWeb.

The Trojan infects Web surfers who unknowingly visit Web sites that were maliciously designed to spread it. Users are enticed to install a specific ActiveX application, which secretly installs spyware and adware on their systems.

Last year was the first a Trojan horse topped Panda`s annual threat list. Additionally, four out of the top 10 threats the company tracked in 2004 were Trojan applications.