Google US accounts hacked

Google has warned that computer hackers in China had broken into the Gmail accounts of several hundred people, including senior government officials in the US and political activists.

The internet giant said all victims had been notified and their accounts had been secured.

The attacks, announced on Google's blog, are not believed to be tied to a more sophisticated assault originating from China in late 2009 and early last year.

That intrusion targeted Google's own security systems and triggered a high-profile battle with China's Communist government over online censorship.

The tensions escalated amid reports that the Chinese government had at least an indirect hand in the hacking attacks, a possibility that Google did not rule out.

In the latest incident, Google believes Chinese hackers tricked people into sharing their passwords in so-called "phishing" scams.