lame, the world's most malicious computer software, could only be a state sponsored creation, according to analysts who have investigated the devastating virus and the pattern of its infection. The virus, which has resulted in the Iranian government ordering an emergency review of all official computer installations, possesses an array of the most sophisticated espionage capabilities, including the ability to secretly record conversations. Apart from Iran, the virus has also been detected in the West Bank, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as well as Israel. The Daily Telegraph reports that Flame has the capacity to gather data files, remotely change settings on computers, turn on computer microphones to record conversations, take screen shots as well as copy instant messaging chats. The Daily Telegraph reports that Kaspersky Labs said the programme appeared to have been released five years ago. "If Flame went on undiscovered for five years, the only logical conclusion is that there are other operations ongoing that we don't know about," a Kaspersky security senior researcher is quoted as saying. Whichever state is behind the virus, for five years it has potentially been privy to the most secret information stored on the computers it has targeted.

Kaspersky Labs said there was evidence to suggest the code was commissioned by the same nation or nations that were behind Stuxnet. Iran, which has suffered 189 infections of the virus, appears to hold a similar view. Its Computer Emergency Response Team said that it was "a close relation" of Stuxnet, which has itself been linked to Duqu, another complicated information-stealing virus, also believed to be the work of state intelligence. Many experts suspect that Stuxnet as well as Flame were created by the US and Israel, both of which accuse Iran of seeking to build atomic weapons. These suspicions have now been strengthened. Discussing Flame, Israel's Vice Premier Moshe Yaalon told Army Radio, "Whoever sees the Iranian threat as significant is likely to take various steps to hobble it. Israel is blessed with high technology, and we boast tools that open all sorts of opportunities for us."