  We reanalyze the XMM--Newton data of GRB 011211 showing that the spectral
features, interpreted by Reeves et al. (2002, 2003) as due thermal emission
from a collisionally ionized plasma, can be also reproduced by a reflection
model (with ionization parameter $\xi\sim 10^2$). We discuss the implications
of this interpretation, estimating the total mass required in the simplified
case of a funnel geometry. We conclude that a moderate clumping of the
reprocessing material (corresponding to a filling factor of the order of $f\sim
10^{-3}$) is required. Finally we show that, if this interpretation is correct,
a bright quasi--thermal component is expected in the optical--UV band
(containing about 90% of the luminosity of the illuminating continuum), whose
presence can be used to test the reflection model.
