A rapidly spreading computer virus that hit over the weekend is now using a different approach to trick unsuspecting victims, a Finnish computer security company says.

The so-called Stormy worm, spread by e-mail, is now using "love-related" subject lines to lure people into opening an attached program that infects a computer, allowing an attacker to hijack the machine, according to F-Secure Corp.

The virus spam had previously used subject lines related to a massive and deadly storm that had hit Europe.

"The subjects used in the e-mails have now changed from news-related events to love-related topics," F-Secure technical manager Patrik Runald wrote in a post to the company's security blog late Monday.

"Sending you my love," "Can't wait to see you!" and "You rock me!" are among the subject lines now being used.

The list of attached files, all ending in ".exe"  — signifying an executable program — has also changed to include "Greeting Postcard," "postcard" and "flash postcard."

"This list looks very similar to the list of greeting cards over at 2000greetings.com," Runald noted.

The worm — a computer virus designed to copy itself — started to spread through e-mails on Thursday with the subject line "230 dead as storm batters Europe."

The hackers who made the virus are believed to be based in Asia and likely hope to create a so-called "zombie" robot network or "botnet." The network of machines could then be remotely used by malicious individuals to send spam e-mails, spread more viruses or steal information through fraudulent phishing e-mails.

F-Secure's lab in Kuala Lumpur discovered the worm early Friday (European time), leading researchers to believe the attack originated in Asia.