Virus and worm writers often use social engineering tactics to lure victims: promises of lurid celebrity photos, cash prizes, and even love letters. This week, at least one virus writer decided to tap into the public's interest in information regarding the pending U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The worm, commonly called Ganda.A, uses about 10 different subject lines and E-mail messages to trick users into opening the malicious file. According to antivirus firm Sophos, these include several that discuss President Bush and Iraq, including:

Subject: Spy pics.Message: Here's the screensaver i sic told you about. It contains pictures taken by one of the US spy satellites during one of it's sic missions over iraqsic. If you want more of these pic's sic you know where you can find me. Bye!

Subject: G. W Bush animation Message: Here's the animation that the FBI wants to stop. Seems like the feds are trying to put an end to peoples sic right to say what they think of the US administration. Have fun!

Security experts say they won't be surprised to see more worms and viruses surface that prey on widespread interest in the war.

According to Internet security firm Symantec Corp., Ganda.A is a mass-mailer worm that sends itself to E-mail addresses found on the hard drive of an infected system. Ganda.A also contains its own E-mail (SMTP) engine. The worm also attempts to disable various security applications.

The worm writer, who calls himself "Uncle Roger" in Hornsand, Sweden, says he wrote the virus because he's being discriminated against. "I am being discriminated by the Swedish school system. This is a response to eight long years of discrimination," is a message inserted into the worm.