Tsunami 'wave rat' donates money from domain name sale

TORONTO - A Canadian student dubbed the "wave rat" for offering the domain name "tsunamirelief.com" for US$50,000 ($72,844) on the online auction site eBay has sold it and donated the money to relief efforts, the gaming company that bought it said on Monday.

Josh Kaplan, 20, branded a "wave rat" by the New York Post, which suggested he was trying to profit from the disaster, sold the domain name to the Montreal-based internet gambling company for US$10,000. The entire amount was given directly to Chabad of Thailand, a Jewish relief agency, the company said.

Kaplan's mother Linda told Reuters last week her son had always intended to donate the money from the online auction to charity and had not tried to profit from the Indian Ocean tsunami, which struck on December 26 and has killed more than 150,000 people.

A spokesman for the gaming company said on Monday he also believed Kaplan had the best intentions.

"We spoke with him and we wanted to verify his story. We believed him to be quite sincere about not trying to profit from the sale of the website," said spokesman Drew Black. "He was helping to raise as much as he could for those in need."

Kaplan was not available for comment on Monday.

Tsunamirelief.com now lists 13 charities, including the American Red Cross, CARE USA and Save the Children, with direct links to their websites to make donations.

The domain name had been initially registered to Michelle Tirado of Southbury, Connecticut, the morning she heard of the tsunami disaster. She listed it for sale with an asking bid of $99, but donated it to Kaplan, who she said claimed to represent an international fund-raising effort.

- REUTERS