New patch ready for a security hole.

Hotmail, the free E-mail service provider based in Redmond, Wash., hopes to have a patch ready by Monday for a security hole that would let a malicious user forge an E-mail message from any online user_s IP address. That IP information can be collected when the user visits a Web page, and it can then be used to forge a libelous or threatening E-mail, officials said. Officials at Hotmail said the security hole was demonstrated with its service, but could affect any Web-based E-mail service.