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LONDON (Reuters) - Singer Leona Lewis, the bookies' favorite to win popular British talent spotting show "The X Factor," has fallen victim to "celebrity cybersquatting," with an Internet domain bearing her name up for auction on eBay.
The domain, www.leonalewis.net, is for sale on the electronic auctioneer's site and has received a top bid of 31 pounds ($60) so far, although experts say its value could rise sharply over the coming days.
Lewis, a 21-year-old receptionist from London, has been championed throughout the show by Simon Cowell, one of three judges on the X Factor panel who is now famous in Britain and the United States as the hard-nosed arbiter of talent.
Jonathan Robinson of NetNames, which manages domain names for some leading British companies and celebrities, said Cowell should have protected Lewis' online profile earlier.
"Celebrities' names become their brands and failing to secure all the obvious domain names has left this budding star open to attack online," he said in a statement from PR company Hotwire, which publicized the story on Thursday.
On www.ebay.co.uk the domain name has been posted by a seller identified only as "pomeranianpuff."
Three days ahead of the sale's close on December 10, the highest bid was 31 pounds.
Lewis' page on social networking site MySpace has been visited more than 100,000 times.
As "The X Factor" moves toward its climax, Lewis is hot favorite to win the show and with it the likelihood of a lucrative recording contract and spinoff projects.
Previous stars who were "cybersquatted" include Canadian pop star Celine Dion and Bruce Springsteen.
In several cases the United Nations copyright agency has intervened on their behalf to have sites bearing their name transferred back to them.
The domain, www.leonalewis.net, is for sale on the electronic auctioneer's site and has received a top bid of 31 pounds ($60) so far, although experts say its value could rise sharply over the coming days.
Lewis, a 21-year-old receptionist from London, has been championed throughout the show by Simon Cowell, one of three judges on the X Factor panel who is now famous in Britain and the United States as the hard-nosed arbiter of talent.
Jonathan Robinson of NetNames, which manages domain names for some leading British companies and celebrities, said Cowell should have protected Lewis' online profile earlier.
"Celebrities' names become their brands and failing to secure all the obvious domain names has left this budding star open to attack online," he said in a statement from PR company Hotwire, which publicized the story on Thursday.
On www.ebay.co.uk the domain name has been posted by a seller identified only as "pomeranianpuff."
Three days ahead of the sale's close on December 10, the highest bid was 31 pounds.
Lewis' page on social networking site MySpace has been visited more than 100,000 times.
As "The X Factor" moves toward its climax, Lewis is hot favorite to win the show and with it the likelihood of a lucrative recording contract and spinoff projects.
Previous stars who were "cybersquatted" include Canadian pop star Celine Dion and Bruce Springsteen.
In several cases the United Nations copyright agency has intervened on their behalf to have sites bearing their name transferred back to them.
