Police in Amersfoort have arrested two young men aged 18 and 22 for cybercrime offences.

The two are suspected of sending a virus to some 10,000 computers worldwide and demanding users pay a ransom to have the virus removed.

In total, some 1,500 computers were affected by the virus, police said in a statement. Victims who refused to pay up lost files, including holiday photos and presentations.

The police high tech crime team was tipped off about the duo by the internet security company Kaspersky and the two agencies are working together on the investigation, police said.

The two suspects were paid in bitcoins, a digital currency which is difficult to trace. It is unclear how much money they got away with, police say.

The two men will appear in court in Rotterdam on Friday.