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Experts will then analyse the effect that the spam has had to their lives, to their PCs and to their wallets.

Security software manufacturer McAfee has armed the participants with a new laptop, with no spam protection, and an email address for 30 days. Some of the participants were also given credit cards to purchase the products and services they were offered, and all were encouraged to pursue advertisements, register for free promotions and respond to any other unsolicited emails they receive.

McAfee intends to establish

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a link between spam and cybercrime, and hopes the experiment will show the damaging effects of spam.

"Spam isn't just a nuisance.It's a tool used by cyber criminals to steal personal and business data," warned Christopher Bolin, chief technology officer at McAfee. "As scammers become more adept at writing spam in local languages it's becoming more difficult for internet users to detect spam. It's vital that computer users understand the risks of leaving their computers unprotected."

The Spammed Persistently All Month (S.P.A.M.) Experiment, examines users from ten countries including Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

"'Barrister' Charles Moore contacted me on behalf of Rose Maxwell widow to the late Mr. Ted Grant Maxwell," wrote Australian participant John. "I got an SMS from him asking me to check my email and get back to him asap. He sounds desperate to give me my $1.2 million. His email gives me a number to call. I'll call him tomorrow."

McAfee hopes to announce the results of its spam analysis in mid-June.