Web users thrown a google in search for French military victories

The parody of Google’s error messages tricks internet users into believing they have stumbled across bona-fide information.

Historians and students looking for examples of Gallic battlefield strength who type "French military victories" in the search box before hitting the "I’m feeling lucky" button, are directed to an apparently authentic Google error page.

The page claims that "no standard web pages" contain reference to French battlefield success - despite a normal search revealing more than 67,000 relevant pages. The "error" page offers the alternative of "French military defeats", which redirects users to a somewhat dubious precis of the Gallic contribution to world peace through the ages.

It is only on close inspection, that the supposed Google page declares itself as a fraud.

The American author behind the website goes on to slate the French, apparently in revenge for their refusal to support the war in Iraq, with jibes such as: "Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. All you do is leave behind a lot of noisy baggage".

The parody, which receives many thousands of hits per day, follows increased anti-French sentiment across the United States. Similar sites have spread through cyberspace in recent months.

Anthony Cox, 34, from Birmingham, has also used Google to fool users who search for the term "Weapons of mass destruction". More than a million users a week are then directed to an error page saying: "These weapons of mass destruction cannot be displayed".

Mr Cox, a pharmacist, said: "It started off as a private joke for a few friends. Then it got passed on. It went off and created its own life."