A web-based campaign to boycott Scottish products following the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi has been formed in the US.

Internet blogs, tweets and forums are urging US consumers to boycott Scotch whisky and BP petrol, as well as travel to the country.

One website, boycottscotland.com, claimed the Scottish government’s decision to release Al-Megrahi – who served eight years of a life sentence for his part in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing – on compassionate grounds, was “inexcusable”.

“Americans need to respond to this outrageous miscarriage of justice and betrayal of the victims’ families, who were mostly fellow Americans, by refusing to spend their tourist dollars in Scotland and avoiding any kind of business there,” the site said.

The Scotch Whisky Association predicted the boycott would be short-lived.

“We have been faced with other boycotts in the past and found they haven’t lasted,” said SWA director Campbell Evans. “We appreciate what lies behind this action. In the heat of the moment it is understandable.”