The hacker group that claims to have found Osama bin Laden's financial accounts has this week launched its public face.

Founded on 15 September in reaction to the terrorist attacks on the US, YIHAT (Young Intelligent Hackers Against Terror) claims to have kicked off a cyber-war against terrorists.

Now vnunet.com can exclusively reveal that the organisation has launched a public information and recruitment site at Kill.net.

The name was chosen "because our mission is to kill the money sources of terror," said Kim "kimble" Schmitz, spokesman for the group and convicted Pentagon and NASA hacker.

"Every burned terror dollar is rescuing lives," he said.

"YIHAT has a face now. Everybody on the net can join us and do his part of anti-terror-work," added Schmitz.

The site appears to be set up as an information trading forum and recruitment site.

YIHAT claims to have 31 hacking professionals in nine different countries, including the UK, and is on the lookout for skilled recruits.

Of course, you can also invest in the fund to support YIHAT, which already has five investors including multi-millionaire Schmitz.

"YIHAT dedicates its knowledge of data (in) security to the fight against terrorism. The best hackers on this planet are united and form a strong intellectual army," reads the site's blurb.

But many of these claims are insupportable, possibly given the legal grey areas which these hackers exploit in their activities.

Earlier this month UK members of YIHAT are said to have broken into the AlShamal Islamic bank and captured transaction data from bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Apparently the info was passed on to the FBI, which has been unable to comment on the matter.

Schmitz and YIHAT are apparently "searching for a government that allows a network of skilled computer hackers to fight terrorism through the online world."