Twink, whose real name is Adele King, left the astonishing message . . . a two-minute tirade of abuse . . . on the answering machine of her estranged husband, David Agnew, in February after a newspaper informed her that his girlfriend, Ruth Hickey, had given birth. The message insults Agnew, Hickey and the newborn baby.

Somehow, the message made its way on to the internet. Irish blogger Damien Mulley (www. mulley. net) linked the uploaded file to file-sharing network www. box. net. Dublin band Warlords of Pez uploaded the phone message as a track on their MySpace website (www.myspace. com/warlordsofpez) where the track has been listened to nearly 10,000 times.

Irish media news feed Blogorrah also provided its readers with various links to the phone message, spreading the word throughout Ireland's amused online community.

King was quite irate when contacted by the Sunday Tribune. "I couldn't give a tuppenny's damn. They can put it on the worldwide web 24/7 for all I care, " she said.

Perhaps the message's most memorable extract is "zip up your mickey", which is becoming something of a catchphrase.

A variety of 'Zip Up Your Mickey' merchandise is now available on the clothing website ferent kinds of t-shirts along with sweatshirts, hoodies, vests, boxer shorts and thongs are emblazoned with the phrase:

'Hey fellas, Twink says zip up your mickey!' Throw pillows, mugs, clocks, baseball caps and magnets are also available on the site. The entrepreneur who designed the merchandise remains unknown.

One internet user has gone a step further and created a 'dance version' of the message.

The track 'Zip Up Your Mickey' can be downloaded free on MySpace where the anonymous composer set up the site www. myspace. com/twink666.

When emailed by the Sunday Tribune, the mysterious musician was philosophical about the composition. "I'm just another internet user who came across the voice message by accident. Isn't it interesting how things like this pick up speed and become huge talking points? Viral culture on the internet is something that is going to really define the 21st century. . . As for Twink, I hope she isn't too upset. I only put together the song as a harmless experiment."