Taiwan's ASUSTek Computer has announced a recall of its Eee Box PCs that were sold in Japan because they contain a virus.

The virus, known as recycled.exe, resides on the D drive of the machine and once opened, the virus will be activated and copy itself to the C drive as well as any other removable or USB drives. Affected by the virus, the running of the computer will become slow and it may download harmful malware programs from the Internet.

Li Yusheng, a representative from ASUS's public relations department, says that the virus entered the computers while they were downloading the Japanese version software to the computer. However, the anti-virus protections on Asus' other production lines are free from the bug and the software of Eee Box products sold to other countries are reportedly safe.

Li emphasizes that the build-in virus in Eee Box sold to Japan is an accident. The computer company has announced a recall of all these suspected Eee Box products and will impose stricter measures on production line management and software protection.

With a total shipment of 4,500, only about 300 Eee Box PCs have been sold in the Japanese market.