A fake Ferrari can cause serious damage that many people never realise, such as financing crime or using child labour, says the Authentics Foundation at a glamourous -- but counterfeit -- event

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (MARCH 10, 2008) (REUTERS) - The Authentics Foundation put a fake, Thailand-made Ferrari on display in Brussels on Monday (March 10) to illustrate the damage done by international counterfeiting.

Top British model Yasmin LeBon and French actress Alice Taglioni were on hand to show that 'Fake costs More', as the organisation's motto says.

The main messages are that counterfeit goods are produced in developing countries often using child labour and that some goods, such as fake medicine, children's toys or even cars that do not comply to basic safety standards, are dangerous.

The Authentics Foundation is an international non-governmental organisation dedicated to raising public awareness of counterfeits and its chairman, Frederic Mostert, told guests: "Everything I am wearing is fake. This is a fake Armani suit; this is a fake Dunhill shirt; this is a fake Versace tie; this is a fake -- believe it or not -- Haagen-Dazs belt; these are fake Givenchy socks; and these are my spiffy fake Louis Vuitton shoes!"

Yasmin LeBon and Alice Taglioni then unveiled posters revealing some of the problems associated with fakes.

Le Bon said it's not just about protecting designer labels, but also the industry behind them.

"Even though I am informed I could possibly fall prey to the idea of buying something cheap and not realising the human cost involved. Somebody, somwhere along the line is going to pay the price for it and whether that's a child in Italy or South America or me myself, it's now pervaded so many different industries. Counterfeits -- they can counterfeit anything, it's really quite shocking."

Senior vice president of Harper's Bazaar, Valerie Salembier, said the most important thing today is to keep people informed, because if they knew what they were buying into they would not fall for fakes, no matter how cheap they are.

"We have three million readers in America and we publish every year a very-hard hitting article about the dangers of counterfeit products. And we talk about everything from the creative process that these luxury companies pay hundreds of millions of dollars to protect, but we also talk about the impact: child labour; terrorism; drug cartels; and once you tell women about this, the mail we get is so extraordinary. We get e-mail, we get regular mail, from women saying 'Oh my God, I had no idea'," said Salembier.

The Authentics Foundation said they found fake cars with malfunctioning airbags, dangerous brakes and unsafe seatbelts and windshields.

The fake Ferrari on display in Brussels on Monday was made in a village in Thailand and was found in a workshop. It's one of several of these cars and not the only make being reproduced cheaply.

The foundation said law enforcing methods -- often undercover -- are much the same as those used to fight drugs traffickers. They want to go to the source rather than fine those at the bottom of the chain selling the counterfeits. Their concern is that these lucrative industries may be financing other more serious criminal activities.

The foundation wanted to attract a maximum of attention so invited European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to discuss what measures the European Union is taking to fight counterfeiting.