LONDON - A picture on an estate agent’s website, in which a mysterious pink hand is shown opening a door, has elicited a huge debate in Internet circles, with people even referring it to aliens.

The image was one of the several pictures posted online to advertise a vacant one-bedroom apartment in Helsinki, the capital of Finland.

But the photo is now circulating around the Internet after an eagle-eyed flat hunter noticed the mystery figure opening the door on the far left of the picture.

To add to the mystery, the picture’s angle is such that it appears as if the rubbery, pink hand reaching for the knob has only three fingers.

The picture has led to a number of theories, with some people suggesting that aliens may have moved to Scandinavia.

There are others who have insisted that the claw-like appendage must belong to a giant chicken.

And a few people have just used the opportunity to make cheap jokes at the expense of estate agents.

“Don’t make fun of that realtor’s manicure. It’s a rough economy and her hands reflect that sad reality,” the Telegraph quoted a commenter writing on LovelyListing.com, the property advert oddity blog where the image was posted.

Readers of the popular technology and web culture blog Boing Boing further span the rumour mills by suggesting that the hand may belong to one of the members of Lordi, the Finnish heavy metal band that won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. (ANI)