Sydney freezes in Facebook's public 'freeze' prank

Melbourne, June 25 : People don't just freeze in shock, for there are those who freeze just for the sake of some basic fun.

Passers-by in central Sydney were taken aback when they saw hundreds of people on the street standing still in different poses, as they participated in a public "freeze" prank organised by social-networking site, Facebook.

As part of the "Flash Mob Freeze!" event by Facebook, nearly 500 people gathered to stun Sydneysiders by stopping mid-step and holding their pose for three minutes.

The participants assembled behind St James Station in Hyde Park for synchronising their watches and then divided themselves into two groups - one to shopping strip Pitt St Mall and the other to busy thoroughfare Martin Place.

And when the clock struck 12.40pm (AEST), all the pranksters froze in their tracks and stayed still for three minutes, leaving the onlookers gobsmacked.

While one man was seen frozen as he was about to launch a paper aeroplane, there were others who posed kissing, taking a photo of each other, praying, drinking from a water bottle and pretending to pull each other in different directions.

In fact, many office workers ere so surprised that they asked each other if a TV commercial was being filmed.

Inspired by similar events held in Grand Central Station in New York and London's Trafalgar Square that have become popular viewing on websites such as YouTube, the Facebook invited 42,000 people to be a part of the prank. While 3750 agreed to attend the event, only a fraction of that number turned up.

In fact, the pranksters were not told about the location of the freezes till the day of the event.

The event's organisers said they were not trying to make a political statement, but just wanted to "have some fun".

ANI