MEXICO CITY - From subways to schools, barrios to bars, yellow "LiveStrong" wristbands popularized by cyclist Lance Armstrong are everywhere in this capital.

Many of the wearers are unaware that legitimate sales of the bracelets are intended to support those with cancer. For rich and poor alike, the bands are an example of hot Americana, a status symbol, the latest rage.

As stores sell the real thing for as much 12 times the Lance Armstrong Foundation's asking price of $1, cheaper counterfeits have poured into sidewalk markets notorious for pirated compact discs and counterfeit-label clothing.

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The fakes start at about $1 and often sell for $2 or $3.

"It is about being cool, not the foundation," said Lizeth Rojas Sanchez, 21, an exotic dancer who wears her wristband on an ankle, just above 6-inch heels.

"People just do not realize what it is about," complained Rojas, who said she aims to share Armstrong's message.

The foundation, based in Austin, began selling the bracelets in May in a partnership with Nike to encourage people with cancer to "live strong," and for others to show unity and raise funds to assist cancer patients.

Their popularity surpassed expectations. More than 40 million have been sold in 60 countries, mostly on the Internet, foundation spokeswoman Michelle Milford said.

Wristband fashion likely is fueled at least in part by athletes and other high-profile personalities wearing them, she said.

Mexico is believed to be the first instance of foreign counterfeiting and unauthorized sales, Milford said, but an illicit-sales operation has been busted in the U.S. Northeast.

"It is impossible to police," she said. "People should not sell wristbands without authorization and not for more than the equivalent of $1."

No stores are authorized to sell them in Mexico, but Nike is considering distribution options. Ordering them by mail over the Internet is a clumsy option for most in Mexico, especially compared with the ease of the corner market.

"I cannot even keep the yellow ones in stock, they go fast," said Miguel Angel Alvarado, a vendor who sells the imitations.

A knockoff of the knockoff is being distributed free by supporters of Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, an early front-runner in the 2006 presidential election.

The yellow bracelets, stamped with his initials and a message, simultaneously tout the candidate and put style in everyone's grasp, said a street vendor who sported one on his own wrist.

"We are his people," vendor Ruben Garcia, 26, said.

Pamela Morales, 15, received a genuine Lance Armstrong bracelet for her birthday last week. She said didn't know what it signified, but had asked a friend to find her a real one.

"Everybody has one and I like the color," said Morales, who only recently found out the bracelets were linked to the cancer foundation.

Their popularity has puzzled sociologist Victor Sanchez, who said many students think they're good-luck charms.

"The bracelets become the latest thing in the United States and Mexico street vendors sell them on every corner," he said.

"I believe that they mean something for one in 10 Mexicans and the others just use them because somebody else had one."

High school student Ilse Martinez, 18, said she is disappointed that the bracelets' message is being lost. "It is a symbol of solidarity, but now it is everywhere," she said. "It is like buying a shirt or a hat that a musician wore on television . . . Everybody has to have it."