Madonna: X-rated sex video alert

Emails that claim to link to an XXX-rated video of pop superstar Madonna will only lead to disappointment, security experts have warned.

The emails, which point to a file called madonna.avi.exe, will direct you to a piece of malware detected as the Troj/FakeVir-EW Trojan horse.

"Madonna may have turned 50, but she's still as big a draw to cybercriminals as young Hollywood upstarts like bad girl Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

"With the new world tour just around the corner, it's not surprising that the hackers are trying to capitalise on this. Using topical stories is one of the oldest tricks in the book and the danger is that fans of the material girl will click before they think," Cluley continued.

Other fake anti-virus programs have come to light in recent weeks, such as one spotted by Trend Micro that also used a bogus celebrity scandal to attract the recipient's attention.

There has also been a recent spate of emails claiming to link to videos of Angelina Jolie naked.

But in an attempt to lighten spirits, Cluley has promised a "fabulous and very exclusive" Sophos T-shirt as a prize to the eagle-eyed person that spots all the Madonna references in his latest security blog posting.