Mark Zuckerberg has been blocked from Facebook.

A Jewish bankruptcy lawyer from Indiana this week found himself persona-non-grata on the popular social networking site because he shared the name of its 26-year-old founder.

Facebook operates a strict policy on fake profiles, and Mr Zuckerberg discovered this week that his page had been removed.

It is not the first time Mr Zuckerberg has had to fight the Facebook authorities.

When he first attempted to join the site, he was asked by the website to provide his birth certificate as proof he existed. After the page was set up, he found himself inundated with friend requests and people asking him to lend them money.

Mr Zuckerberg even created a website explaining his problem and lamenting the damage done to his professional reputation.

On the site IamMarkZuckerberg.com he wrote: "If you had Googled Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, you would have found me. No one else.

"Now my name isn't mine any more."

Mr Zuckerberg pointed out that unlike the notorious Harvard dropout, he had finished his university education. "Other than the name, and our Jewish upbringing, the two of us have little in common," he said.

However he added of his billionaire namesake: "If he does fall upon difficult financial times, and happens to be in Indiana, I will gladly handle his case."

A Facebook spokesman apologised for the confusion and said they would reactivate the account.