Former Take That member and singer-songwriter Robbie Williams has launched a new play-money poker site, simply called Robbie Williams Poker.

Williams has long been known to be a keen poker player, and with his latest initiative he now reaches out to fans with an offer to play in a series of just-for-fun online poker games with added prizes.

Despite being a play-money site, the superstar's poker room has already created quite a stir in his native England, where he has been criticized for encouraging gambling among his fans.

One of the most outspoke critics of the project has been Liberal Democrat MP Tessa Munt, who told The Sun that she had been "outraged" after learning about the celebrity poker site.

"I am absolutely outraged by this. I think it is deplorable," Munt said, adding that Williams' own history of drug and alcohol addiction should keep him from creating his new site.

"Robbie Williams of all people should be sensitive to the problem of addiction," she said.

"I don't believe there is anything harmless about gambling in this way. The problem is escalation, and he must know what this is like," she added.

Williams has yet to address the criticism, but states on RobbieWilliamsPoker.com that the site is "NOT a gambling offer", and that all games are played with "virtual game money with no value."

Apart from the actual games, the site will also allow for fans to interact and build their profiles through for instance creating customized in-game avatars.

The site is currently in beta version, but is expected to open soon.