Warnings of Judgment Day by a US preacher appeared premature today despite sending some people into hiding or rushing to repent, as others partied to wave off good Christians.

Televangelist Harold Camping's prophecy insists the so-called "Rapture" will begin with powerful earthquakes at 6:00 pm local time in each of the world's regions, after which the good will be taken into heaven.

According to the 89-year-old and his religious broadcasting network Family Radio, the not-so-good will suffer hell on earth until October 21, when God will pull the plug on the planet once and for all.

One of the first places to be hit, according to Camping, who first wrongly predicted the end of the world in 1994, would be New Zealand -- but 6:00 pm came and went with no earthquakes and little local media attention.

Internet users, meanwhile, joked about creating a fake Rapture if Camping's prediction did not pan out.

On Twitter, non-believers suggested laying out old clothing and shoes on pavements and lawns to give the impression that someone had indeed been beamed up, or releasing inflatable dolls into the sky.

Others joked about a whole lot of paperwork facing authorities as pranksters threatened to file thousands of missing person reports, just for fun.

Internet users also discussed their favorite "rapture music playlists" for when the time arrives, and the perfect pick-up lines for that final romance before the end, such as: "I promise it won't be awkward in the morning."

Suicide prevention hotlines meanwhile had been set up, according to the Washington Post, amid fears despondent Family Radio followers would be depressed if the apocalypse fails to materialize.

In the United States, where Camping's evangelising group is based, some people have quit their jobs and hit the road to urge others to repent before it's too late.

Gregory LeCorps stopped working weeks ago to take his wife and five young children on the road and warn others that the end really was nigh, according to New York state's The Journal News.

"We're in the final days," LeCorps, who hoped to be on a beach in South Carolina by Judgment Day, was quoted as saying.

In Australia, another early target of Camping's doomsday predictions, Christians greeted news of the end of the world with scepticism and humor before the fateful hour passed without incident.

"It's not being taken seriously at all," theologian Ian Packer from the Australian Evangelical Alliance told AFP, saying the May 21 deadline was being greeted with "openly humorous talk."

"Aside from hearing about Harold Camping in the media, we would not have known about his existence," he added.

In Vietnam, thousands of ethnic Hmong converged on northwestern Dien Bien province a few weeks ago after hearing broadcasts on Camping's global religious broadcasting network that Jesus was coming on May 21.

Hundreds are believed to be hiding in forests after security forces dispersed those who were awaiting the supposed return of Jesus Christ, a resident said.

In Ciudad Juarez, one of the cities worst affected by Mexico's drug wars, huge billboards proclaimed that "Christ is coming back on May 21."

Authorities say the apocalyptic message has not provoked panic or hoarding, but resident Rosy Alderete said she was "worried by the coincidence" that big earthquakes have rocked Japan and New Zealand this year.

Britain's Guardian newspaper described the looming Rapture as "the fundamentalist Christian equivalent of the last helicopter out of Saigon," referring to the US pull-out after the Vietnam war in 1975.

The fact that Camping's predictions have been wrong before has left even high-profile people willing to make fun of him.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- who is Jewish and therefore, according to Camping's prophecy, unlikely to be beamed up to sit alongside Jesus and God in heaven -- said on his weekly radio show that he would suspend alternate side parking if the world ends on Saturday.

The much-reviled parking rule requires New Yorkers to move their cars from one side of the street to the other to allow street cleaning to take place.

And some are cashing in on money-making opportunities.

The Craigslist website ran tens of thousands of ads from non-believers offering to buy the worldly goods of those who think they're going to heaven, while a group of US atheists has sold hundreds of contracts to rescue people's pets.