A new virus, dubbed the Homepage virus, is spreading rapidly worldwide.

You can identify the virus by a subject line of "Hi!" and an accompanying message that reads, "You've [or "You"] got to see this page! It's really cool." Attached to the message is an HTML file with a .vbs extension.

Opening the file activates the worm virus that replicates itself throughout your e-mail system, sending messages to addresses in your contact lists. In addition, the file directs the victim's brower to visit pornographic Web sites.

The virus, which is a close relative of the Anna Kournikova worm that appeared earlier this year, was first detected last Tuesday in Australia, and has spread rapidly to Europe and the United States.

Security experts claim the rapid spread of the Homepage virus is a result of corporate system administrators who still allow their e-mail servers to receive attached programs written in Microsoft Corp.'s visual basic language, which carry the three-letter designation VBS.

The virus doesn't seem to destroy existing computer files. The most significant problem caused by the virus is clogging mail servers at large corporations.