"Officials at a US Christian college have launched an investigation after a cardboard effigy of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was hung from a tree, a statement said Wednesday.

George Fox University, in Newberg, Oregon, said in a statement on its website that the cutout of Obama was found hanging from a tree on campus early Tuesday morning before being removed by staff.

A sign reading "Act Six reject" was taped to the cutout. Act Six is a scholarship program run by the college granted to 10 student leaders from urban Portland. Most of the students currently benefiting from the program are ethnic minorities, the statement said."