MICROSOFT MAY BE IN COURT AGAIN but this time with a new twist. A civic group in Korea, People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), has said it is considering filing a class action suit against the Vole of Redmond. It says Microsoft should carry the can for the SQL Slammer worm.

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The worm caused mayhem around the world last month when servers using Microsoft's SQL Server connected to the Internet became infested and started flooding the Net with traffic. PSPD says that a new "product liability law" holds a manufacturer responsible for damage caused by flaws in its products. So far, more that 3000 broadband subscribers have signed on to take part in any class action.

It might seem that the Vole has a reasonable get out, it released a patch for the vulnerability in SQL Server quite some time ago. The PSPD seems to think that's not enough, "although Microsoft says it issued warnings about the worm through e-mails and other public notices, we do not believe the company performed its duty to the fullest, considering it had a list of all SQL Server users."

Whether anything will come of this is anyone's guess. Microsoft would surely fight a furious legal battle against anything that might hold it responsible for flaws in its own software. The PSPD has said that a legal advisory team will be meeting this week to discuss the details of the proposed suit.