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BUCHAREST/LONDON (Reuters) - A decisive test for what is called the "toughest cybercrime law in the world" began on Tuesday with the opening of a high-profile case of a Romanian man charged with spreading a computer virus.

Dan Dumitru Ciobanu, wearing black jeans and leather jacket, appeared in the northern city of Iasi. He is accused of making "Blaster.F," a mild copy of one of last summer's harshest Internet worms.

At the time, the original Blaster worm -- whose author remains unknown -- wreaked havoc on computer networks, inflicting untold damages on businesses and universities.

Blaster.F was never considered much of a threat but if convicted, the 24-year-old faces between three and 15 years in prison -- twice the sentence for rape in Romania.

Romania has enacted tough laws to protect its emerging reputation as a hub of skilled programmers for Western companies and erase any connection with cybercrime syndicates that law enforcement officials say are being run out of Eastern Europe.

As the trial begins, the Ciobanu case has reignited an international debate on appropriate justice for cybercrimes, particularly one that until recently was dismissed as the handiwork of tech-savvy teenagers showing off.

"If they are curious how such a program works, young programmers should also be curious to see the legal consequences," Romania's Deputy Communication Minister Adriana Ticau said.

Ciobanu's lawyer Gabriela Barnoveanu told Reuters: "a game was turned into a crime" and added that the case had been adjourned to April 6.

Ciobanu was briefly held by police last year after specialists traced the outbreak to two of his computers.

His version of the worm infected roughly 1,000 computers. Police said he admitted to modifying the original Blaster virus by switching the names of folders and changing a message inside the program to Romanian.

THIRST FOR JUSTICE    Continued ...

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