New Effelsberg 1.4 GHz observations of the central 10 \degr \times 10 \degr of the Virgo cluster are presented .
NVSS data are used to subtract point sources from our map .
During the data reduction process special care is taken ( i ) to disentangle emission from the North Polar Spur from emission from the Virgo cluster , ( ii ) to disentangle emission from the strong M87 sidelobes from emission from the Virgo cluster , and ( iii ) to correct for non-linear ground emission due to the long scans .
We detect a low surface brightness radio halo with a flux density of 5 \pm 1.5 Jy centered close to the elliptical galaxy M86 .
This halo is much weaker than that observed in the Coma cluster .
It is reminiscent of a past interaction between the intracluster medium of M86 and a low density gas , belonging most probably to the Virgo cluster .