Visitors looking for the Bermuda Tourism website were greeted by an unpleasant surprise this week – a warning that the site may be hosting a computer virus.

An e-mail received by The Royal Gazette stated that one user on the site had his computer's security block the unwanted download of "Trojan.Asprox", a computer virus.

Google searches for the site marked the page on Monday and most of yesterday, warning internet users to either avoid the site or to use caution.

The virus, a "trojan horse," hijacks the victims computer, potentially erasing computer data, the theft of personal information such as credit card numbers, or using the computer to further spread the virus.

By yesterday afternoon, the warning was taken down, with the possibly malicious programme removed.