SYDNEY: Football megastar David Beckham has been lured to coach Australia by a basket of fruit, according to the most elaborate of the country's April Fool's jokes on Thursday.

The Sydney Morning Herald and ABC radio teamed up for the gag, which was set up in the newspaper's sports section before an impersonator was interviewed on air.

The Herald said Beckham had been persuaded to join Australia's World Cup campaign as assistant coach after receiving fruit and a "get well soon" card from the Football Federation Australia (FFA) following a recent injury.

"The pineapples and bananas (FFA) sent made Becks realise he's really appreciated by the Aussies," a source was quoted as saying. "Our David likes simple but sincere gestures like that."

Actor Lee Perry then quoted Shakespeare and pretended to ask Beckham's wife Victoria, or "Posh", where his underwear was during the interview on Sydney radio.

"It sounded so authentic to air but there were little hints in each of the on-air components, that if you analysed it you would have realised it wasn't quite what it seemed," said ABC content manager Peter Brennan.

Elsewhere anti-monarchists replaced a sign for Melbourne's Queen Street with Republic Street, and the Northern Territory News had a false scratch-and-sniff section.

BMW ran an advert for a GPS system which can lead motorists through a secret maze of underground tunnels, while the Tweed Daily News claimed that "Avatar II" would be filmed in the small Gold Coast town of Tweed Heads.