SYLVESTER STALLONE - ROCKY STATUE UNVEILED IN SERBIAN VILLAGE

A disaster-prone Serbian village has unveiled a statue of SYLVESTER STALLONE's boxer movie icon ROCKY BALBOA in a bid to attract tourists after years of flooding and landslides. Officials in Zitiste, situated about 35 miles (56.3 kilometres) north of Belgrade, uncovered the bronze and concrete Rocky statue in the town square on Saturday (18Aug07). Local councillors believe the statue, created by Croatian artist Boris Staparac, will make the area a tourist hot-spot, turning around the village's fortunes after years of suffering natural disasters.