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The TV campaign, M&C Saatchi's first work for the tourism body, uses the strapline 'So where the bloody hell are you?'.

The ads broke in Australia last month, but permission to broadcast them in the UK has been refused.

'We thank the UK authorities for the free publicity and invite them to have a bloody good holiday in Australia, with the Commonwealth Games on now and the Ashes coming later in the year,' said Tourism Australia's managing director, Scott Morrison.

He added that he was aware a UK ban was likely, but the decision was made to press ahead with the campaign, in the knowledge that it would create additional interest and PR.

The ads are now being screened unedited on a dedicated website at www. wherethebloodyhellareyou. com, where they have already been viewed by more than 100,000 people, according to Tourism Australia.

Full-page ads promoting the website will run in UK and Australian newspapers.