Police have identified the person responsible for posting a 'black list' of 162 Jewish university professors reputed to have created a pro-Israel lobby in Italy.
The blogger, who identified himself as H5N1, the name of the virus which causes bird flu, was said to be a man living in the province of Rieti, north of Rome.
Police have already searched his home and a small flat in Rome where he would stay while in the capital.
There are unconfirmed reports that the man has already been under investigations for similar incidents of posting information on the Internet.
The name of the anti-Semite blogger is expected to be made public some on Tuesday when he is officially placed under investigation for invasion of privacy and slander.
The latter charge would be in response to a suit filed by one of the 162 professors on the list.
In related developments, a website belong to the Radical Party was apparently hacked on Monday with the posting of the list of 162 professors.
A second 'black list' has also appeared on the Web with the names of of Jews alleged to be traitors or a threat to the state of Israel.
The list of 'Jews who hate themselves' included such celebrities as Norman Filkestein, Ilan Pappe, Naomi Klein, Gilad Atzmon and Nuri Peled.
Interior Minister Giuliano Amato ordered police to identify the blogger who posted the list of 162 professors after it appeared last week.
Amato intervened after a complaint was filed by the Rome Jewish Community which asked that the institutions ''block a cancer which could spread and strike anywhere''.
The 162 professors are employed at Rome's La Sapienza university and universities in other Italian cities.
La Sapienza Chancellor Renato Guarini issued a statement condemning the ''extremely serious initiative by people who, using an Internet blog, have committed an unacceptable act of intolerance''.
''Anti-Semitism and any and all forms of racial and cultural discrimination are the exact opposite of this university's mission and principles,'' he added.
''The chancellor offers his full support to all those who have been personally involved and, in particular, to the colleagues at La Sapienza.
One of those on the list was Anna Foa, a professor of modern history at La Sapienza, who said: ''We are dealing with a very disturbing incident. Those responsible for this insane initiative have committed a crime and must be punished''.
''We are on the borderline of madness. A list of names, together with anti-Semitic slogans, represents an evolution which is truly frightening,'' she added.
According to Foa, ''there are dozens of these kind of sites on the Internet but there has never been, until now, any lists posted. The Rome Jewish Community was right to have filed a complaint because this is a phenomenon which must not be underestimated''.
''Fortunately, there are explicit laws in Italy against anti-Semitism. It is now time for these laws to be applied also against those who exploit the Internet to spread messages of this nature,'' Foa concluded.
