INTERNET BUSINESS NEWS-(C)1995-2002 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

William Hill has suspended betting on the winner of the Booker Prize after a dummy web page claiming the winner was accidentally broadcast ahead of the Tuesday decision.

Designers of the web site say that six different winning pages are prepared prior to the announcement, as the outcome is always unknown before hand. One of the pages, saying that Yann Martel's Life Of Pi had won, was inadvertently broadcast.

William Hill received heavy betting and, after hearing what happened, suspended betting pending enquiries. The company hopes to be taking bets on the prize again when the situation calms down.

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