'Flash Mobs' are an internet-inspired gathering of large groups of people who assemble in public places to perform pointless acts for brief periods of time, and then quickly disperse again.

A crowd of more than 200, many of whom had met just 13 minutes before at nearby pubs, marched to a furniture store selling sofas just off Tottenham Court Road with strict instructions: call a friend on your mobile phone and praise the merchandise, but leave out the "0". Then, having completely confused the staff, they just left! The event, organised by a 40-year-old Londoner, was Britain's first "flash mob".

It's all part of a craze that started in the US in June. Hundreds of people hook up on the net and plan pranks like worshipping a giant dinosaur in a New York toyshop, and then disappear. But the mobsters aren't doing it for anything other than fun.

Similar outbreaks of zany crowd behaviour have hit streets in various cities around the world in recent months as the phenomenon, which started in New York, crossed the United States to Japan and Europe.

http://flashmob.co.uk/

www.geocities.com/londonmobs/