It was clearly a slip of the tongue, but many Austrians will not be amused because they hear it all too often: Expressing his gratitude for the hosting of a major conference in Vienna, UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon offered his thanks - to Australia.

Mr Ban recovered about 20 minutes into his news conference on the sidelines of the meeting on developing countries.

Tipped off by aides, he apologised, noting that he knows there are "no kangaroos in Austria".

He was addressing a pet Austrian peeve as tourists often say Australia when they mean Austria.

Cashing in on the mistake, most Vienna souvenir shops stock T-shirts with a crossed-out picture of the bouncy marsupial and the slogan "There are no kangaroos in Austria".

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