Sydney - Australia on Tuesday launched a variant of the Nigerian internet scam it hopes will entice foreign tourists to its sandy shores. In job advertisements placed worldwide, the successful applicant would get a six-figure salary and rent-free luxury accommodation for being part-time caretaker of a paradise island on the Great Barrier Reef.
If you can walk, talk, swim and operate a laptop computer, you are automatically on the shortlist.
Demonstrate an "adventurous attitude" and a willingness to complete a "few minor tasks" like feeling the fish and collecting the mail and you could be spending the autumn and winter on Hamilton Island soaking up the tropical Queensland climate and lifestyle.
Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle was part right when she claimed "it's a real job and it's a pretty good package."
It's not a real job at all, but part of a million-dollar tourist promotion campaign that would see one lucky jobseeker running a blog to tell the world of their amazing good fortune.
"People won't be able to help themselves, particularly if they are in Paris or New York or London when there's ice and sleet and snow, and will want to read further," Boyle predicted.
Candidates have six weeks to polish up their resumes and post them on the Tourism Queensland website. Interviews are in May and the job starts in July. Return air fares are included.
Locals are discouraged from applying. Youth and beauty are a distinct advantage.
