  We use {\it ab initio} molecular dynamics simulations to study a sample of
liquid silica containing 3.84 wt.% H$_2$O.We find that, for temperatures of
3000 K and 3500 K,water is almost exclusively dissolved as hydroxyl groups, the
silica network is partially broken and static and dynamical properties of the
silica network change considerably upon the addition of water.Water molecules
or free O-H groups occur only at the highest temperature but are not stable and
disintegrate rapidly.Structural properties of this system are compared to those
of pure silica and sodium tetrasilicate melts at equivalent temperatures. These
comparisons confirm the picture of a partially broken tetrahedral network in
the hydrous liquid and suggest that the structure of the matrix is as much
changed by the addition of water than it is by the addition of the same amount
(in mole %) of sodium oxide. On larger length scales, correlations are
qualitatively similar but seem to be more pronounced in the hydrous silica
liquid. Finally, we study the diffusion mechanisms of the hydrogen atoms in the
melt. It turns out that HOSi$_2$ triclusters and SiO dangling bonds play a
decisive role as intermediate states for the hydrogen diffusion.
