Times of London

A crack team of cybernauts will form a rapid response Internet "war room" to track and respond aggressively to online rumors that Barack Obama is unpatriotic and a Muslim.

As he gears up for his general election fight against John McCain, Mr. Obama and his chief advisers are aware of the danger of such rumors, amid polling data showing that a significant number of Americans believe he is a Muslim or are suspicious about his background. Such doubts were a factor in his poor showing with white, blue-collar voters during his primary battle with Hillary Clinton.

In recent days Mr. Obama has -- unprompted -- brought up the subject of the chain e-mails and blog sites making the false claims. Some state that he is a radical Muslim who was sworn in as a U.S. senator on the Koran; others that he sympathizes with Palestinian radicals. Many focus on his middle name of Hussein, which was taken from his Kenyan father.

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