France has echoed calls by the German government for web users to find an alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) to protect security.

德国政府呼吁网民使用别的浏览器代替微软的IE以保护系统安全，法国对此表示响应。

Certa有把握的，确实的, a government agency that oversees¹ cyber threats, warned against using all versions of the web browser².

Germany warned users on Friday after malicious³恶意的，恶毒的 code - implicated⁴ in attacks on Google - was published online.

But Microsoft told BBC News that IE8 was the "most secure browser on the market" and people should upgrade.

Cliff Evans, head of security and privacy, said that so far the firm had only seen malicious code that targeted the older version of its browser, IE6.

"The risk is minimal," he said.

For a web user to be affected⁵, he said, they would have to be using IE6 and visit a compromised缺乏抵抗力的，妥协的 website.

"There are very few of them out there," he told BBC News.

However, if this did occur, a PC could become infected with a "trojan horse", allowing a hacker⁶ to take control of the computer and potentially steal sensitive information.

'Sophisticated attack'

Although the vulnerability has so far been exploited only in IE6, security researchers warned that could soon change.

"Microsoft themselves admit there is a vulnerability, even in IE8," said Graham Cluley of security firm Sophos.

Mr Cluley said that because details of the exploit were now available online, hackers⁷ could soon change the code to target other versions of the browser.

He warned web users to be careful about clicking on links in unsolicited未经请求的，主动提供的 e-mails and advised all web users to upgrade their browser to the latest version, no matter which software they used.

The advice follows revelations泄露，启示录 that a "targeted and sophisticated" attack on Google exploited the vulnerability.

Google said last week that an attack on its corporate⁸ network had targeted the e-mail accounts of human rights activists⁹.

The attack led Google to announce that it might withdraw from China, after it revealed that the attacks had probably originated in the country.

Following the news, Germany's Federal Office for Information Security issued a warning against all versions of Internet Explorer and recommended that users switch to an alternative such as Firefox or Google's Chrome.

The French agency Certa issued a similar warning.

"Pending¹⁰ a patch补丁，碎片 from the publisher, Certa recommends using an alternative browser," it said.

The UK government had said that it would not issue a similar warning. However, it said the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure¹¹ (CPNI)was "monitoring the situation" and would "publish further advice if the risks change".