Australia: Skepticism greets expert tip

Fredrik Bjoerck, who was involved in the Melissa virus investigation, said in reports over the weekend that he believed the culprit to be a German exchange student in Australia. He told a television crew that the author may have used the name Michael or Mike.

However, the Australian Federal Police has dismissed the claim, and is waiting instead on the advice of an agency such as the FBI before acting.

"We have nothing to work on other than someone's point of view from a Stockholm university. We have no information from a credible source," an AFP spokesman told ZDNet Australia.

The AFP told ZDNet Australia that if any member of the public had information relating to the author's identity that they should report to the AFP office in their capital city.

So far, the search for the author of the worm has focused on The Philippines, traced back to a computer at an ISP from where the worm first spread. Like many acts of vandalism on the Internet, the culprit could be hiding behind a string of computers in different locations.