The promise is hard to resist: “Always Anonymous. Always Juicy.” But a website that encourages college students in America to trade salacious gossip about each other – “Top ten freshman sluts,” one typical posting is entitled – has prompted outrage and calls for a ban.

Interest in the JuicyCampus.com website has been heightened by the popularity of Gossip Girl, a TV series that is based on a series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. The show features wealthy Manhattanites who spread gossip about each other via an anonymous blog.

But many students are panicking about the real-life gossip on JuicyCampus, which includes accounts of one-night stands alongside discussions of who is “hot”, ugly or overweight. One posting promises to name all of the girls on a campus who have allegedly given oral sex to male students.

The format of the website is a simple list of message-board headlines that can be clicked on for a more detailed view and responses. Those unlucky enough to be featured fear that their college indiscretions could have a permanent record online.

“I thought, ‘Is this going to affect my job employment? Is this going to make people on campus look at me?’,” said one student at Cornell University in New York, who recently became the subject of a lengthy and anonymous posting about his sex life. The student, who did not want to be named, said that he worried about his sister finding the material on Google.

Concern about malicious online college gossip has been limited to social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook, which have rules against obscene or defamatory postings. In spite of the rules there have been high-profile cases of bullying, one of which culminated in the suicide of a 13-year-old girl.

But now there is JuicyCampus, which is financed by advertising and encourages its users to post gossip while promising them anonymity.

The prospect of a website devoted to rumours has proved to be too difficult for many students to resist and many predict that it is only a matter of time before it reaches Britain.

The site claims to have rules on defamatory comments but it informs users: “If your [university] calls upset about some girl being called a slut we’re not handing over access to our server data. If the LAPD calls telling us there is a shooting threat, you better believe we’re gonna help.”

At Pepperdine University in Malibu student leaders have called for a ban. “We don’t want this kind of junk in our community,” Andy Canales, the leader of the student body, said. Other students have taken a direct approach, posting messages such as “Let’s not ruin each other’s lives” on the website.

Matt Ivester, the founder of JuicyCampus, a former student at Duke University in North Carolina, said that the fears are overblown. “College students are clever and fun-loving and we wanted to create a place where they could share their stories,” he said, adding that JuicyCampus blocks postings from being indexed by Google.

Rumour and scandal

"The ladies of Delta Gamma are overwhelmingly attractive. Almost 85-90 per cent are way above average looking"

"Who's the hottest asian on campus? Yeah there are a lot of asians on campus, but who's the hottest one?"

“Every single girl in this sorority is stuck-up. They feel they are God's gift to men, and embody the most superficial principles. For them, a girl's worth is based solely on how pretty she is, how many guys she has fawning over them, how many Gucci or Chanel handbags they own, how much money Daddy has"

“TKE guys are creepy. I have been to a few TKE parties and most of the guys are unattractive and if they are some what attractive and get your number they stalk the hell out of you!! girls beware!!"

“ I had a class last quarter w/ some chick… who has a f****** extra toe, she wore flip flops. Has anyone else seen this, are there any pictures of it?"

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