Users of all current versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser might be vulnerable to having their computers hijacked because of a serious security hole in the software that is still not fixed.

The flaw lets criminals commandeer victims' machines merely by tricking them into visiting websites tainted with malicious programming code. As many as 10,000 sites have been compromised since last week to exploit the browser flaw, according to antivirus software maker Trend Micro.

The sites are mostly Chinese and have been serving up programs that steal passwords for computer games, which can be sold for money on the black market. However, the hole is such that it could be "adopted by more financially motivated criminals for more serious mayhem - that's a big fear right now," Paul Ferguson, a Trend Micro security researcher, said.