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A team of scientists in Hong Kong said on Sunday they had identified a new virus believed to be behind the global outbreak of a mysterious respiratory illness as authorities reported an eighth person had died in the territory from the disease.

Health authorities said an 80-year-old man had died in Hong Kong after contracting SARS bringing the death toll worldwide to 13.

Director of the Hospital Authority, Ko Wing-man, added the elderly man had also suffered from heart disease.

Another 25 people were also diagnosed with the virus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases here to 242.

The latest death came as University of Hong Kong scientists said they had cultured the virus that causes the deadly pneumonia-like illness called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which has infected hundreds around the world.

The team isolated the virus from the lung tissue of a patient who developed SARS after contact with a doctor from southern China's Guangdong Province.

The patient, a 64-year-old Chinese doctor, is believed to be the origin of the epidemic here. He is believed to have infected at least seven other people who stayed on the ninth floor of the Metropole Hotel in Hong Kong's Kowloon district between February 15 and 27.

Chief virologist at Hong Kong University, Malik Pieris, called the new virus "tricky" and stressed it was important to conduct more studies before forming any conclusions.

The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) said that with the virus now isolated, scientists could focus on characterising the agent, determine its relationship with known viruses and establish a definitive identity.

The results of the team's research will be shared among 11 leading laboratories in a global network set up by the WHO.

Klaus Stoehr, a WHO virologist who is coordinating the network, said the success achieved through mutual cooperation of scientists around the globe gave hope that SARS could be contained.

"Scientists, who are by default academic competitors, are now working virtually shoulder to shoulder. In less than a week, they have produced results, which, in other circumstances, would likely have taken months or more. This rapid advance is fuelling the hope that SARS can and will be contained."

Hong Kong has been at the centre of the global outbreak since an American businessman succumbed to the disease here on March 13 after visiting China and Vietnam.

Since then, at least 386 suspected SARS cases have been reported in 13 different countries, according to WHO figures.

Tourism, a key pillar of Hong Kong's economy has been hit by the outbreak of the disease and the decision of France and Italy to withdraw from an international rugby tournament here on Friday, citing health worries, dealt another blow to the territory's prestige.

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