"Red" Fails at White House

WASHINGTON — An Internet virus dubbed “Code Red” failed to shut down the White House Web site, even after marshaling the power of hundreds of thousands of computers in its attack.

The virus has infected more than 225,000 computer systems around the world, computer security experts said. The virus defaces Web sites maintained by those computers with the message “Hacked By Chinese,” but the origin of the virus is unknown.

The ultimate goal of the virus, known as a “worm,” is to gather strength by spreading among computers and then have them all attack a numerical Internet address that represents the White House Web site.