AUSTRALIA'S first planking victim Acton Beale will not be the last as risk-takers get spurred on by authorities cracking down and the "Jackass effect", a psychologist says.

As the debate about planking went viral around the world yesterday, Brisbane psychologist Paul Martin warned of more deaths of "extreme plankers".

He claimed part of the reason was that the pre-frontal cortex in men aged 23 or younger - the decision management part of the brain - was not fully developed and they therefore lacked a "handbrake" and took silly risks.

"Add testosterone, add masculinity, add the Jackass effect and then add the explosion of social networking sites which are a way to gain acceptance . . . (and) death is quite inevitable."

Prior to Mr Beale's death on Sunday morning, it is believed he and a male friend were planking on railings skirting the Story Bridge and in the middle of its six-lane thoroughfare.

A short time later, the pair arrived at Mr Beale's Kangaroo Point apartment block where the 20-year-old went straight from the seventh-floor lift to try and plank on a 5cm railing and fell to his death.

Under investigation

Queensland Police Service refused yesterday to answer questions about whether it is monitoring extreme planking photos posted online with an eye to charging people, but issued a statement reminding plankers they could be charged with a criminal offence "if they attempt the activity in areas that constitute trespass or in dangerous locations".

But Mr Martin claimed authorities had to strike a fine balance between enforcing the law while avoiding an inevitable backlash by some who would risk their lives to defy the law out of bravado.

"It can make (planking) really cool. " he said.

The craze and how it started

Mr Beale's death continued to make news around the world yesterday and is believed to have triggered new planking sites in the US, Europe and the UK.

Melbourne man, Matt Fernandez, 24,who claims to have started the planking craze in 2004, today pleaded with enthusiasts to stop trying to outdo each other before more people are injured.

Mr Fernandez said he had received emails from people blaming him for the death of Mr Beale.

"The main intention wasn't for it to be done on police cars or on train tracks," he said. "I'm really impressed with how it's changed, but I urge that everyone does it safely."

Mr Fernandez was working as a DJ and wanted a unique way to pose alongside professional dancers. He called his lying down pose "The Face".

The Face morphed into planking and a spontaneous way to crack up his mates by laying face down in restaurants, on the street and at Bondi Beach.

In 2009 an internet site calling the activity "The Lying Down Game" was created encouraging people to post photos of random planks.

It gained a surge in popularity earlier this year in Australia after some NRL players planked on the NRL version of The Footy Show, and in recent weeks talkshow hosts in Australia and the US have planked live on air.

Footy Show regular Sam Newman has been revealed as a fan of the dangerous craze, posing precariously on the edge of a 40-storey balcony.

The biggest spike, however, came from Mr Beale's tragic death.

Aside from triggering the creation of many planking sites across the globe this week, Facebook's Planking Australia page now has more than 104,000 members; almost doubling from Sunday to Monday night.

Even Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard commented on the craze when she warned people of its dangers yesterday.

For more on Acton Beale and the internet craze of "planking" go to the Courier-Mail.

Originally published as Planking: More will die, warns expert