Anti-capitalist activists steal WTO's thunder

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has issued a warning of a bogus website operating under its name.

The site www.gatt.org masquerades as an official WTO site, but according to the organisation it is the work of an impostor. The site looks like an authentic WTO site with director general's pages and links to official looking pages. The bogus site is suspected to be the work of anti-capitalist demonstrators.

A note at the bottom of the bogus page says: "This site is maintained by Yes Men, an international group of men and women who use any means necessary to agree [sic] their way into the fortified compounds of commerce, ask questions, and then smuggle out the stories of their undercover escapades to provide a public glimpse at the behind-the-scenes world of business."

The WTO has issued an alert on its home page www.wto.org saying: "A fake WTO website www.gatt.org has been created to deceive internet users. The fake site uses the email address enquiries@gatt.org. The use of WTO designs, logos and materials is strictly unauthorized. Worse, some pages on the fake website could cause unsuspecting visitors to reveal their email addresses and other information to the site's operators. The fake site could also be picked up by search engines, a nuisance for serious users looking for genuine information."