SYDNEY: Is it worth life in a wheelchair to take a funny photo to impress somebody you don't know on the Internet?
This is the question police in Australia have posed after a man died on Sunday taking part in the latest craze going viral on the Internet -- "planking".
Acton Beale, 20, plunged to his death after positioning himself for a picture on a balcony railing seven floors up in Brisbane after a night out drinking.
He was a "planker", a fast-growing group of people who lie flat on their stomachs with their arms against their bodies -- to resemble a plank -- in unusual and sometimes dangerous situations.
Photographs of their exploits are then shared through social media sites.
Little-known until last week when a man was charged with planking on a police car, the Planking Australia Facebook page has seen its number of fans soar from under 10,000 four days ago to almost 100,000 on Monday.
The craze, and news of Beale's death, has sparked copy-cat Facebook sites around the world, including Planking UK, Planking USA, Planking France and Planking Germany.
But police are worried that the fad could spin out of control.
This is the question police in Australia have posed after a man died on Sunday taking part in the latest craze going viral on the Internet -- "planking".
Acton Beale, 20, plunged to his death after positioning himself for a picture on a balcony railing seven floors up in Brisbane after a night out drinking.
He was a "planker", a fast-growing group of people who lie flat on their stomachs with their arms against their bodies -- to resemble a plank -- in unusual and sometimes dangerous situations.
Photographs of their exploits are then shared through social media sites.
Little-known until last week when a man was charged with planking on a police car, the Planking Australia Facebook page has seen its number of fans soar from under 10,000 four days ago to almost 100,000 on Monday.
The craze, and news of Beale's death, has sparked copy-cat Facebook sites around the world, including Planking UK, Planking USA, Planking France and Planking Germany.
But police are worried that the fad could spin out of control.
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