LONDON - An escaped British criminal dubbed "the Facebook fugitive" has become an Internet hit, taunting police via the online social networking site and notching up nearly 30,000 "friends" by Thursday.

Craig "Lazie" Lynch, 28, absconded from prison in Suffolk, eastern England in September, where he had been serving a seven-year term for aggravated burglary.

Over the Christmas holiday season, he has posted pictures of himself posing with turkey and tinsel -- as well as a profile shot of him raising his middle finger in defiance and hints about his location.

On Christmas Day itself, he left a status update saying: "Merry xmas i made it. F*** da system" while on December 27, he wrote: "WAKE UP PEOPLE ITS THE WEEKEND WHERE'S THE PARTY AT?"

But despite a large global following, extensive coverage in the press -- where he got his nickname -- and plans to get special T-shirts made in his honor, some Facebookers are turning against Lynch.

Several groups have been set up with names like "Sightings of Craig 'Lazie' Lynch and "We Hate Craig Lynch", attracting hundreds of members.

He was even moved to add a recent posting defending his reputation: "I got respects and havent touched or robbed no old lady. now move on and find a life ya s****."

Police confirmed details of his sentence and escape, adding that they were confident the Craig Lynch featured on Facebook was the on-the-run convict.

"We have got ongoing inquiries to trace him but we're renewing appeals for anyone with information about his physical location to come forward," a police spokeswoman said.

"Facebook is not necessarily a reliable indicator of where he is."