VANCOUVER - The political and media frenzy prompted by a MySpace profile purporting to belong to notorious Canadian serial killer Clifford Olson reveals a troubling misunderstanding of the Internet and emerging technologies such as social-networking websites, says an expert in Internet and privacy issues.

The controversy began when a MySpace page was discovered claiming to be authored by Olson, who has been serving a life sentence since pleading guilty to killing 11 youths in British Columbia in the early 1980s.

The page, which has since been removed, featured photographs, personal essays and news stories, many of which are available on other websites about Olson.

Politicians and media outlets were quick to jump on the issue, with some condemning a system that would allow Olson to create such a profile.

But even before corrections officials pointed out that inmates don't have Internet access, there were obvious signs that suggested the page was a fake, says Richard Rosenberg, a professor emeritus from the University of British Columbia.

"I think anybody with moderate sophistication would see this as being a put-on, and done from outside the prison knowing that it would arouse a lot of concerns," says Rosenberg.

The page included a long list of Olson's likes and dislikes, most copied verbatim from other websites, along with essays that in some cases were 20 years old.

There were, for no apparent reason, scantily clad pictures of Canadian actress Pamela Anderson, and Olson's MySpace "friends" included infamous killers (presumably fake profiles themselves), as well as Santa, Frosty the Snowman and a koala bear named Caroline.

While politicians expressed their outrage, editorials complained that Olson was allowed to have a page on MySpace.

Many news outlets noted Olson's supposed serial killer friends, but few included the cast of fictional characters that also appeared on the list.

The Correctional Service of Canada has launched an internal investigation into the source of jailhouse photos of Olson, although most of the pictures are available elsewhere on the Internet and appeared to have been taken quite some time ago.

Rosenberg says it's a concern that politicians -- who will inevitably be asked to guide Internet-related policy -- were eager to give so much attention to a page that appeared to be erroneous.

"There are a lot of issues that are coming before Parliament (related to the Internet), and that's something that's going to have to be talked about in the government by people who generally don't understand the Internet."

As for the media coverage, Rosenberg worries such news stories and commentaries could contribute to reactionary public policy.

"Media want to cover themselves (by not ignoring such a story), don't want to be seen as misunderstanding this, but of course they are seen as misunderstanding it to a great deal," he says.

"When things on the Internet concern people, an immediate reaction is we should pass a law controlling what goes on.

"I think it's important that those parts of the media that have a better understanding try to help the rest of us understand what's going on ... so the first impression isn't the lasting one."

Corrections officials referred questions to the public safety minister, Stockwell Day, whose office would only say the investigation into the page continues.

"We do not have all of the details as to how this site found its way on the Internet," spokeswoman Melisa Leclerc wrote in an e-mail.

"What is important to know is that minister Day is concerned that a social network had posted pictures of a notorious child-killer on their website."

Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh was one of the politicians who spoke out about the MySpace profile, issuing a statement soon after the story surfaced.

Dosanjh's statement acknowledged that Olson likely didn't create the page, but still demanded an investigation to be sure he wasn't connected.

He issued another statement the following day after a more dubious profile showed up on Facebook, saying it should be added to any investigation.

Dosanjh says he has no regrets about taking a strong stand against the profile, even if it turns out it was simply a hoax.

"Ultimately, if someone uses the Internet to perpetrate a cruel joke, that's a serious problem for the victims' families and friends," Dosanjh says.

"I understand there is something called freedom of expression, but there is also something called good sense."