In the same vein, a Saudi-based Arabic website has been launched to check facts. The website — www.Takkad.com, which translates in English as "double-check" — is still in soft-launch mode. Visitors can contact the site's creators by submitting questions on the e-mails they receive. The answers along with the questions then appear on the website.

There are currently only five answers on the site. One of the questions is about a recent rumor that the Passport Department will prevent people from traveling unless they pay their electricity, phone, water and traffic bills.

In response to the rumor, the Takkad team says they have contacted the Passport Department, which has given assurances that the information is incorrect.

The Passport Department is already linked to the Traffic Department and failure to pay traffic fines does not impede Saudis from traveling. The only time outstanding fines cause problems is when the time comes to renew passports. For expatriates, the only time outstanding fines cause problems is when they apply for exit-re-entry visas and Iqama renewals.

False rumors and urban legends spread quickly in the Kingdom, especially via online forums and websites. The widespread availability of the Internet and instant ability to receive and send information is also a contributing factor.

The website's creators hope the site will become an important tool in dispelling rumors and wrong information circulated via e-mails.

Kaleem Ahmed, a marketing analyst at Jeddah Soft, a website designing company, said such initiatives are crucial. "Rumors and false information can be curbed and corrected the same ways that they are spread. There are two ways to do so — via e-mails and blogs and the media," he said, adding that people need to verify the information they receive via the Internet.

Rima Shaheen, a freelance web designer and IT expert, said websites that check facts are important and needed. "We can find websites for checking facts in English but not in Arabic. Sometimes we receive e-mails that correct certain rumors that have been in circulation for some time," she said.

Shaheen believes people in the Kingdom believe everything they see in print. "Googling facts is not a 'Saudi' thing. I believe people here rarely double check facts," she said, adding that just because something is on the Internet does not mean it is true.