Rugby fans are being warned to be careful when buying World Cup 2011 tickets online after the discovery of at least one unofficial website.

On Wednesday, the New Zealand Herald reported that dodgy Rugby World Cup (RWC) website, worldcup2011.com, was up-and-running with one dead giveaway - a picture of rugby league legend Stacey Jones on its front page.

But later on Wednesday, the site, claiming to sell tickets to the tournament in New Zealand next year, was boasting a more ambiguous picture of the back of a number 10 jersey.

RWC general manager Ross Young said attempts were being made to track the origin of the website, which links to European ticketing site, euroteam.net.

The site is offering tickets in US dollars at well above the going rate.

The dodgy site - apparently launched to coincide with Tuesday's release of official RWC ticket packs - was a warning to fans not to get sucked into the promise of easy tickets, Mr Young told the New Zealand Herald.

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