The 'lucky' recipients for the would-be students include the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of Drayton, Miami University, Ohio University and Texas A&M.
The emails included a link to a web page apparently on the US news site CNN.com, giving it an air of legitimacy. The URL to the page used the first part of the domain, CNN.com, but followed it with an internet protocol number.
CNN confirmed the story was a hoax and the pages have since disappeared from the web. The origin of the emails remains unknown.
The 17-year-old Olsen twins are among the richest teenagers in America and currently attend a private school in Los Angeles.
Sources:
http://www.thebatt.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/01/30/3e38d680c8705
http://dayton.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2003/01/27/daily34.html
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=18788
http://enquirer.com/editions/2003/01/30/loc_twins30.html
See also:
http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story325.html
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