Italy rocked by income scandal as pay details for every citizen appear online

The income of every Italian citizen was published on the internet yesterday by the country's outgoing government.

Curious, excited and maddened Italians overran www.agenziaentrate.gov.it in the few hours before it was taken down following a complaint by the country's privacy watchdog, reports Reuters.

Daily newspaper Corriere della Sera described the chaos as "a delicious opportunity to find out with a click how much your neighbour, colleague or, for gossip fans, celebrities earn".

But tax minister Vincenzo Visco - nicknamed Dracula - defended the website.

"It's all about transparency and democracy. I don't see the problem," he said.