Australian cricketers body steps to stop impostors targetting Test cricketers

Bogus social networking Internet sites are being created under the names of Australia's top cricketers.

The Australian Cricketers Association said it had helped several players and managers to remove fake profiles on sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

In a message on its website the Sydney Morning Herald quoted the association, as saying: ''If you are aware of a fake profile purporting to be yourself the ACA may be able to assist in its removal. Please don't hesitate to contact ACA legal counsel Michael Abrahams for assistance.''

Michael Clarke had no input on the Facebook page running under his name - but he is on Twitter.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting has two Facebook profiles, but only one of them is real.

Abrahams told The Sun-Herald that the legal action could be taken if the fake sites were not closed.

''There's been quite a lot of them having problems. The higher the profile of the player, the more common it becomes. It's a service we're offering the players because they need to have control over what is going out there under their names," he said.

''It can be very difficult for people to differentiate between the fake and the real sites,'' he added.

Abrahams said players owned their own ''brand'' and images.