(AFP) The Foreign ministry has received reports that a US-bound letter allegedly containing traces of anthrax was found to be free of the deadly bacteria, a spokesman said today.

The spokesman said the Malaysian embassy in Washington had received news that a fourth and final test had found the letter to be free of anthrax.

"From the lab findings, they found that the result was negative, that it did not have traces of anthrax," he told AFP .

The spokesman said the ministry was informed of the results late Wednesday, but officials here have yet to see the report.

"We will hold a meeting immediately and study the findings. Then when we are sure, we will come out with an official statement," he said.

CDC test

The New Straits Times daily quoted foreign ministry secretary general Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak as saying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US had carried out the test two days ago and found that the letter was free of anthrax.

"I received the confirmation from our embassy in Washington that the final test on the letter came out negative for any trace of anthrax spores," he was quoted as saying.

US reports said a letter containing a cheque, which had been sent by Microsoft to one of its vendors in Malaysia, was returned to the Microsoft office in Carson City, Nevada, containing pornographic pictures.

Initial tests on the letter had found positive traces of anthrax, which has become a focus of bioterrorism fears in the US since several people were found to have been exposed to the rare disease recently. One of them died.