A man who had posted false information on the online encyclopaedia - Wikipedia, linking a prominent journalist to the Kennedy assassinations, has admitted to having played a trick on a co-worker.

Brian Chase, 38, manager at a small delivery service in Nashville, presented a letter of apology to the journalist in question, John Seigenthaler Sr, former publisher of the Tennessean newspaper and founding editorial director of USA Today. He ended-up resigning from his job.

Chase reportedly said, that he felt the need to let Seigenthaler know that the deed was not the handiwork of someone out to get him, but rather done as a joke that had gone horribly wrong.

The biographical information that Chase had posted, which has since been replaced, falsely stated that Seigenthaler, a top adviser and close friend to Robert Kennedy, "was thought to have been directly involved in the Kennedy assassinations of both John and his brother Bobby."

Chase revealed that his fake online biography was intended to be "a joke" on a co-worker, on what he considered "some sort of gag encyclopedia." The two of them had been discussing the Seigenthalers, a well-known local family.

Seigenthaler responded to the false entry by writing an op-ed piece for USA Today, blasting Wikipedia's credibility. He described himself as a close friend of the Kennedys, and said that it was most painful for Wikipedia to suggest that he was suspected of their assassination.

Seigenthaler, 78, has said that he does not intend to pursue legal action against Chase.

However he has expressed concern that every biography on Wikipedia would be hit by this debacle, and that although he is not in favour of more Internet regulation, Wikipedia is inviting exactly that by allowing irresponsible vandals to write anything they want about anybody.

The echoes of the case are being heard way beyond the offices of Chase's employer, with questions being raised about the credibility of Wikipedia as also about freedom and accountability on the Internet.

Post the fracas, Wikipedia which calls itself "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit," has changed its rules so that only registered users can post or revise an article.

Wikipedia now describes Brian Chase as "an American businessman who posted a hoax on Wikipedia."

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