Name: Anonymous 2010-03-14 5:05
Panic was sparked in Georgia after a TV station broadcast news that Russian tanks had invaded the capital and the country's president was dead.
The Imedi network report, which brought back memories of the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, was false.
But mobile phone networks were overwhelmed with calls and many people rushed onto the streets.
Imedi said the aim had been to show how events might unfold if the president were killed. It later apologised.
'Disgusting'
For a brief moment on Saturday evening many Georgians thought history was repeating itself, the BBC's Tom Esslemont in Tbilisi says.
It is only 18 months since Russian tanks came within 45km (28 miles) of the Georgian capital, our correspondent adds.
In its news report, pro-government Imedi TV showed archive footage of the war and imagined how opposition figures might seize power after an assassination of the country's President, Mikheil Saakashvili.
Although the broadcast was introduced as a simulation of possible events, the warning was lost on many Georgians, our correspondent says.
The Imedi network report, which brought back memories of the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, was false.
But mobile phone networks were overwhelmed with calls and many people rushed onto the streets.
Imedi said the aim had been to show how events might unfold if the president were killed. It later apologised.
'Disgusting'
For a brief moment on Saturday evening many Georgians thought history was repeating itself, the BBC's Tom Esslemont in Tbilisi says.
It is only 18 months since Russian tanks came within 45km (28 miles) of the Georgian capital, our correspondent adds.
In its news report, pro-government Imedi TV showed archive footage of the war and imagined how opposition figures might seize power after an assassination of the country's President, Mikheil Saakashvili.
Although the broadcast was introduced as a simulation of possible events, the warning was lost on many Georgians, our correspondent says.