mordant wit

A Swedish security group said Friday that they had discovered erotica stored among files inside Microsoft's Office XP suite.
The default installation of Microsoft Word, the group said, includes an explicit love letter from "Bill" to an unnamed recipient. One of the PowerPoint template files on the same disc includes a topless photo of celebrity Alyssa Milano, according to the Iannde security consultancy.

Microsoft apparently discovered the files some time ago. The letter and image file stored on the Office disc are unpacked onto a user's computer when the Office suite is installed. However, when the Office suite is patched and updated, the files are overwritten with more prurient content, Iannde reported. In the case of the so-called "Bill" letter, the file (\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033\Elegant Letter.dot) is replaced with generic text.

Milano's digital image appears during a transition in the "Curtain Call" template (\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\Presentation Designs\Curtain Call.pot) where an animated curtain briefly swings open to reveal the image of a topless Milano before the next slide is presented.

When the Office suite is updated via Windows Update's Office Update feature, the file is replaced with one that lacks the transition, Iannde said.