Another five foreign missions in Kuala Lumpur received suspicious packages today, bringing the total to 11 over the past 24 hours.

According to the police, the packages contained threatening letters linked to the treatment of Muslims.

They also contained compact discs and an unidentified liquid.

The police described the incidents as taking advantage of the security situation after the bomb attacks on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Five missions - the United States, Russia, Britain, France and Australia - received packages on at about 10 this morning, Kuala Lumpur police chief Mustafa Abdullah told AFP .

"You have been infected with a biochemical weapon. Curse you for what you have done to the Muslim ummah (community)," read the letter in the packages, according to him.

Harmless substances

Mustafa said police believed the letters were a hoax and the substances were harmless. He accused those responsible of playing on heightened fears created by the weekend attacks in Bali which left 19 dead.

The bombing has been blamed on the Southeast Asian Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, which is accused of links to the Al-Qaeda network, and Indonesian police are hunting two Malaysian leaders of JI.

The police chief said the packages contained a cd-rom together with a greenish liquid, similar to water coolant.

"We have sent the contents for analysis," he added.

A French embassy official said their security officers had examined an express mail package, which contained a compact disc wrapped in yellow plastic and had a postmark from the city of Kota Baru, Kelantan.

The police and the hazardous materials unit were called.

US embassy officials also confirmed they received a 'suspicious package' but declined to give details.

The Japan, Germany, Thailand, Canada, the Philippines, and Singapore missions all received parcels yesterday by express mail.

The Japanese embassy, the first to receive a package, was evacuated for several hours before police gave the all-clear.

Security tightened

Police have said the packages, delivered by express mail, appeared to originate from Selangor as well as from Kelantan and Terengganu.

Diplomats said most packages contained a compact disc and liquid.

"It contained a broken CD and it was in a transparent envelope and surrounded by a small amount of liquid," said Ch van Haastrecht, second secretary at the Canadian High Commission.

The police have also stepped up security in areas that house the foreign missions.

Most diplomats were tight-lipped about security measures Wednesday, but the Canadian, Singapore, French, Japanese, Thai, Australian, Philippine and British missions said they were open for business.

A Philippines embassy official said security had been tightened.