A false bomb threat has caused traffic jams and panic among holiday shoppers at a large shopping mall in the outskirts of Moscow, local police said.

An unidentified prankster warned police on Saturday night that an explosive device had been placed in the MEGA Belaya Dacha shopping mall near Moscow's Ring Road.

All shoppers were immediately evacuated from the premises as bomb disposal squads searched the mall for explosives.

"Police assisted by K-9 units searched the entire shopping mall but did not find any explosive device or other dangerous objects," a spokesman for the Moscow Region police headquarters told RIA Novosti.

The evacuation caused massive traffic jams on the roads around the shopping mall, while hundreds of panicking shoppers rushed from the building to get into cars and commuter buses.

The bomb search lasted for several hours because the building occupies a large territory and houses a great number of shops, sports and entertainment facilities and a movie theater.

Police is now looking to identify and arrest the "phone terrorist," the police official said.

MOSCOW, December 27 (RIA Novosti)