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The report, called ?Mapping the Mal Web Revisited', found that 19.2 per cent of all Web sites ending in the (.hk) domain were a security threat for Web users. China, with a (.cn) domain, is in second place with more than 11 per cent of its sites risky, the report says.

While some net domains are becoming unsafe, others are getting a reputation as having the safest domains like Finland, which has overtaken Ireland's (.is) as the safest domain, with just .05 per cent of its sites risky.

The report notes Romania (.ro) and Russia (.ru) are still in the top five most dangerous domains, with 6.75 and 6 per cent, respectively, of their sites risky. However the Philippines, with a (.ph) domain, had an explosion in riskiness, with a 270 per cent jump.

The study analysed nearly 10 million heavily visited sites in 265 country and generic domains, says toptechworld.com and added that the risks of surfing "are greatly increasing, and that the chance of downloading spyware, adware or viruses increased by more than 40 per cent over 2007".