IT'S OFFICIAL! You can not sell a baby by Internet auction! You can't sell your kidney, either, though someone tried.

Troubled executives at eBay, the American auction house, have been working overtime to investigate the listing of a baby boy due to be born this month. It was a hoax, of course, but the bogus listing attracted bids of up to $109,100 before the company was able to pull the spurious listing off their site.

The service has been beset by problems of this kind recently. The 'baby auction' follows hot on the heels of another prank listing by a Florida man, offering to sell his kidney online. The bidding reached $5.6 million before law enforcement officials stepped in.

Babies and body parts aside, it's possible to find some pretty unusual, if not downright strange, stuff for sale on online auctions. You'll find everything on AuctionHunter (www.auctionhunter.co.uk), the only Internet auction dedicated to UK users.

Speaking on behalf of AuctionHunter, Alison Nicholson said: "Auctions are a huge growth area, but it is important that users choose a reliable service. In general, British bargain hunters are sensible in their expectations and make responsible item listings. AuctionHunter takes every possible precaution to keep bogus bidders and pranksters off the site and this is reflected in our high sell-through rate compared to competitor services."

Readers should note that AuctionHunter will be out of action for a period of about six hours from 8am-2pm today (Wednesday, September 15). Buyers and sellers can still view it, but won't be able to use it. However, all auctions due to finish today will be extended by 24 hours. Sellers and leading bidders will be notified by e-mail.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.