The pair are in a stable condition in hospital

Two Australian tourists are in a stable condition in hospital after being shot in New Orleans.

Police said the men, aged 21 and 23, had asked a stranger in a Bourbon Street bar to sell them drugs.

The stranger escorted them to a driver who took them across the Mississippi River before telling them they would need hundreds of dollars.

Police said a third man shot them when they said they did not have the money. The third man then jumped into the car, which drove away.

The two Australians are students at Curtin University, based in Perth.

The pair study at the Western Australian School of Mines based in the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia state. They had travelled to Butte, Montana, to compete in the Intercollegiate Mining Games.

After the games ended on Sunday a group of students travelled to New Orleans on a private holiday, Curtin University vice-chancellor Deborah Terry said.

"Both students' families have been contacted and are arranging to travel to the US," she said.

"The university is providing support and assistance to the injured students and their families. Support is also being provided to the others in the group who were not in the vicinity of the shooting and are unharmed."