A bogus chain letter claiming to be raising money to save the life of a sick seven-year-old girl is being circulated by e-mail in Hong Kong.
The message says 'Amy Bruce', whose family cannot afford her medical bills, will receive seven cents from worldwide charity the Make a Wish Foundation every time the letter is passed on.
But the foundation, which for 20 years has been granting wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses, says the letter and others like it are a time-wasting hoax.
The chain letter says: 'I am seven years old and I have severe lung cancer from second-hand smoke.
'I also have a large tumour in my brain from repeated beatings. The doctors say I will die soon and my family can't pay the bills.' The letter urges recipients to pass on the message and threatens those who do not with the warning: 'For those who don't send it, what goes around comes around.' Two weeks ago, the South China Morning Post reported that another hoax e-mail was warning Hong Kong mobile-phone users that their handsets would be destroyed by a virus if they answered certain calls.
The Make a Wish Foundation said the Amy Bruce message - and a similar one claiming to be from a young boy - was bogus and that the Internet service provider of the person starting the chain had been asked to take action.