The Austrian hamlet of Fucking is sticking to a name that has made it a magnet for English-speaking tourists, sign thieves and the stuff of internet fame.

Franz Meindl, mayor of the town of Tarsdorf that includes the hamlet, dismissed news reports that residents were pushing to change the name to something less controversial such as Fuking or Fugging.

'I don't know where this comes from in the international press,' an annoyed-sounding Meindl said by telephone last Wednesday from the Upper Austrian town near the German border.

Media reports said local residents in the town had grown weary of tourists stealing town signs and striking indecent poses for photos.

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