Group rails against 'risque' sculptures

Sand sculptures of curvaceous, full-bottomed women on Copacabana beach may be one of Rio de Janeiro's wackier tourist attractions, but now they're under fire from a resident's association claiming the risqu�� creations promote prostitution.

Jassim al-Alawadhi was one of several tourists stopping to take a selfie in front of a larger-than-life sculpture of a woman lying on her front, with her sand backside, clad in a tiny string bikini, sticking prominently in the air.

"It's just sand. I don't think it is an excuse for prostitution or vice. It's just a sculpture and it's what the poor man here does to make a little money," said al-Alawadhi, a 26-year-old financial analyst visiting from Kuwait.