ACCORDING to one of the definitions in the Oxford English dictionary, a virus is "a harmful or corrupting influence".

And that influence could mean you will never get to read this article because rumours abound that there is a Valentine's Day virus out to get us this week.

The virus is believed to be similar to the Love Bug which crippled 15 million computers last May, and comes in the same week as a virus named after Russian tennis star Anna Kournikova caused computers to crash around the world. Fears of a Valentine's bug were no doubt fuelled by a recent report which claimed that more than a third (37 per cent) of business e-mail users across the UK would still open an "I Love You" email if it arrived. Already the Kournikova bug, also known as the VBS and SST virus, has hit e-mail services across America, Europe and Australia. Users are tempted with the message: "Hi: Check This!", with what appears to be a picture file labelled "AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs".

When users click on the attachment, the virus e-mails itself to every address in their address book.

But this bug is nothing new according to the website vmyths.com which tracks viruses and explodes some urban myths surrounding the subject.

The site claims the Kournikova virus was around last year and also details some theories about other bugs.

Companies or individuals who feel they could be at risk can protect themselves by finding out more about viruses at www.mcafee.com.

As well as selling software to weed out viruses, there is plenty of advice and information about protecting your PC.

Another website full of useful information on the subject can be found at www.nai.com.

But despite the urge to find out who has sent you a Valentine, opening any e-mails marked "I Love You" this week could prove to tug harder at your purse strings than it does at your heartstrings.