SACHA BARON COHEN - COHEN RECEIVES KAZAKH INVITE

COHEN RECEIVES KAZAKH INVITE

British funnyman SACHA BARON COHEN has been officially invited to visit the central Asian nation he mercilessly lampoons in his latest movie. BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN sees Cohen play spoof Kazakh TV presenter BORAT SAGDIYEV, who portrays his homeland as a country of superstition, incest, political suppression and religious intolerance. But Kazakhstan's Deputy Foreign Minister RAKHAT ALIYEV has condemned the backlash the comedian has received for his negative depiction of the country, insisting threats of legal action and censorship will do nothing to improve Kazakhstan's reputation. Instead, he has invited Cohen on an official visit to see at first hand how wrong he is. Aliyev says, "I'd like to invite Cohen here. He can discover a lot of things. Women drive cars, wine is made of grapes, and Jews are free to go to synagogue. "It's useless to offend an artist and threaten to sue him. "It will only further damage the country's reputation and make Borat even more popular."