The fact that the genome of the SARS virus is different enough from other known viruses that there is at least some speculation that it is comes from a Chinese biological weapons experiment gone very wrong. See SARS CRISIS: DON'T RULE OUT LINKAGES TO CHINA'S BIOWARFARE from the Jamestown Foundation, which draws heavily on Russian speculation. It's been picked up by some news media; I found it first in a newspaper in India.

I know nothing about this organization. I even hesitate to mention it, but I think the 2nd & 3rd hand reports will be further digested by the news media with less of the conditionality than is in the Jamestown Foundation report.

Here is part of the conclusion:
As of late April, it remains impossible to conclude from the reported scientific research that the SARS virus is related to a man-made, or indeed, a military program. The key remaining question in this context involves the precise animal origin of this virus. If that animal source cannot be determined, then Kolesnikov's suggestion that it is man made deserves investigation.