Beijing - The development team at Maxthon International has examined xAurora and determined that it is a hack of Maxthon's 1.x Classic version.

Jeff Chen, the CEO of the company, and other members of the development team confirmed that xAurora consists almost entirely of Maxthon code, with the primary change being that the word "Maxthon" has been replaced by "xAurora" in the browser, except for one instance which the hackers apparently overlooked. The hack was first revealed by long-time users of Maxthon who posted their discovery in Maxthon's forum.

The program was posted on a Sri Lankan Web site by a person identifying himself as Dr. Sameera de Alwis of Sri Lanka. He claimed that he developed entirely in Assembly language, creating features that are "totally innovative from Sri Lanka." He also said it has the support of the Information Communication Technology Authority of Sri Lanka, and that it won the Bronze prize in the "Research and Development" category in the 2006 National Best Quality Software Awards (NBQSA), organized by the British Computer Society - Sri Lanka Section.

Curiously enough, that last claim is true.

In a story in the Sri Lankan Daily Mirror, reporter Dinidu de Alwis (cq same last name as Dr. Sameera de Alwis) wrote that the British Computer Society confirmed presenting the award based on an examination of the software and a slide presentation present by Dr. de Alwis. A representative of the organization said it was aware of the problem and would conduct its own investigation. If xAurora is found to have been misrepresented, Dr. de Alwis faces the possibility of the award being revoked.


Chen said that Maxthon is preparing a legal answer to restrain the illegal program. He did not say what type of legal action.

"After more investigation, we are pretty sure it's a hacked version of Maxthon 1.x," Chen said. "We have never given them rights to modify/re-distribute Maxthon."

Some supporters of Sameera de Alwis posted messages on Maxthon's online forum at Maxthon Forum claiming the controversy was begun by Maxthon and that statements by Maxthon developers were an attack on Sri Lanka and that xAurora was really promoting Maxthon.

"We respect Sri Lanka people as we respect people from all countries," Chen said. "If you love Maxthon and want to promote Maxthon, please show your respect. Hacking and changing Maxthon's brand/ownership are definitely offenses. If you guys can bravely admit your mistake and promise not to do it again, in public. we can consider how resolve it peacefully."