Adidas pulls ‘sexualised’ World Cup T-shirts

Brazil's tourism board has asked Adidas to stop selling two controversial T-shirts ahead of this year's World Cup, saying they encourage sexual tourism.

One shirt shows a bikini-clad woman with open arms on a sunny Rio de Janeiro beach under the word-play 'Looking to Score.' The other has an 'I love Brazil' heart resembling the upside-down buttocks of a woman wearing a thong bikini bottom.

The shirt designs have touched a nerve in Brazil, where people often complain about foreign stereotypes of Brazilian sensuality.

They also irk Brazil's government, which is campaigning aggressively to shed the country's reputation as a destination for sex tourism.

Tourism board Embratur said it contacted Adidas to ask the German multinational to pull the shirts from its stores, and the products were not available on the brand's website on Tuesday evening.

“We always listen carefully to our customers and other stakeholders, so having taken on board their feedback, we have made the decision to withdraw this product line,” Adidas said in a statement. “It is important to stress that this was a limited edition range which was only available in the US.”

"Embratur strongly repudiates the sale of products that link Brazil's image to sexual appeal," it said in a statement.

The shirts went on sale in Adidas shops in the United States at a time when Brazil is preparing to host the World Cup tournament, which kicks off on June 12.

President Dilma Rousseff said Brazil would crack down on sex tourism and the exploitation of children and adolescents during the cup, which is expected to draw 600,000 foreign fans.

"Brazil is happy to receive tourists for the World Cup, but it is also ready to combat sex tourism," she said in a burst of Twitter messages that included a hot line number to report cases of sexual exploitation.

Adidas, the world's second-largest sportswear maker, is one of the main sponsors of the event organized by football's governing body FIFA and the maker of its official ball.