TEHRAN What is a rite of passage for most U.S. university students has been blown into a full-fledged scandal for the twin daughters of President George W. Bush, caught trying to drink alcohol despite being underage.

Trying to circumvent the law is one of the major tests taken by some university students who misuse others' valid identifications or employ counterfeit identification to buy liquor.

While Bush on Wednesday sought to keep media focus on his first-ever environmental policy speech as president, delivered from California's Sequoia National Park, national attention focused southward to Austin, Texas, where Jenna Bush was alleged to have tried to buy alcohol with false identification, AFP reported from Washington.

Austin police went to Chuy's Mexican Restaurant late Tuesday after receiving an emergency telephone call to report minors attempting to buy alcohol. When they arrived, the officers found that Jenna and Barbara Bush, both 19, "were alleged to have been involved in this incident," Austin police said in a written statement.

The two were issued criminal citations Thursday for underage drinking; Jenna for allegedly using fake identification to buy a drink and Barbara for illegal possession of alcohol.

This is the first citation for Barbara Bush, a student at her father's alma mater, Yale University.

A Reuters report from Austin said Jenna, a student at the University of Texas, pleaded no contest earlier this month to a charge of possession of alcohol by a minor after undercover police found her drinking beer as they checked for underage drinkers in an Austin bar.

She was sentenced to eight hours of community service and a six-hour alcohol awareness course.

The manager of the Mexican restaurant in Austin called police to the premises on Tuesday evening and told them that minors had tried to buy alcohol, police said.

Jenna ordered an alcoholic drink and was asked to show identification to prove she was 21.

Witnesses told police that Barbara Bush ordered alcohol and was served.

In Washington, a White House spokesman had little to say on Thursday as he fended off questions about the president's handling of the alcohol-related incidents.

"You know what my answer will be: This is and shall remain a private family matter," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said at a contentious White House news briefing.