asp.net-mvc - Standard URL tries to call a controller action

Question

I cannot get the following link to open. It tries to call and action instead: controller /action/ www.xyz.com. It should open a new window with the url of a website outside of my application.

 @if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(@item.WebAddress))
      {
        var url=@item.WebAddress;
        <td><a href="@url">@item.WebAddress</a></td>
       }