London, Feb. 10 :A Twitter account purporting to be written by the Dalai Lama has been suspended after being exposed as a fake.

The feed attracted nearly 20,000 followers within 48 hours after launching under the Tibetan spiritual leader''s name on Saturday.

According to The Telegraph, it claimed to be administered by the "The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama", and directed most inquiries from other Twitterers to the exiled monk''s official website.

Explaining the 73-year-old''s decision to join the microblogging site, it said: "His Holiness thought it was prudent to make his office open and assessable to a more youth and technologically advancing audience."

Another Tweet read: "I''m sure HH will be just as inquisitive about technology as he has been over the past 14 reincarnations."

But Twitter took the rare step of suspending the account after it emerged that the person behind it had no connection to the Nobel Peace Prize winner. (ANI)