McAfee, has announced the launch of its global S.P.A.M. (Spammed Persistently All Month) Experiment. For 30 days, participants from around the world – ranging from homemakers, government executives, and students to retirees – will surf the Web, make online purchases and register for promotions. Participants have been provided with a clean laptop without spam protection and a new email address. Beginning today, they will blog about their experiences daily at www.mcafeespamexperiment.com.

With a proven link between spam and cybercrime, the experiment aims to show the devastating effects of spam."Spam isn't just a nuisance. It's a tool used by cyber criminals to steal personal and business data," said Christopher Bolin, chief technology officer for McAfee. "And, 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."

Cybercriminals use spam to take control of millions of compromised computers around the world. Spam emails entice individuals at work and at home to handover sensitive information – and even cash – to criminals. S.P.A.M. Experiment participants are from ten countries spanning the globe, including Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.