Panama police warns of virus in false Chavez email

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – An email circulating  among Internet users that claims Venezuela’s president Hugo  Chavez has died is false and carries a computer virus, the  national police of Panama said on its website today.
Chavez was most recently seen in public yesterday in  Caracas where he gave a long news conference.
“Don’t open the email that says ‘Death of Hugo Chavez.’ It  is false and carries a virus that can damage your computer,”  Panama’s police said on its website (http://www.policia.gob.pa/)   and in a message sent out on Twitter.
Venezuelan officials repeatedly deny rumors about Chavez’s  death, accusing political opponents of spreading them  maliciously. The president was robust and garrulous during a  three-hour news conference on Tuesday to mark the 13th  anniversary of his election victory.
Rumors that Chavez was dead were circulating in financial  markets today.
A spokeswoman for Panama’s police confirmed that the warning  about the false email had been issued by the police department.