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London (dpa) - Model Claudia Schiffer Monday unveiled a patriotic poster of herself wrapped naked in her national flag as part of a publicity campaign for Germany.
Her picture appears under the banner "Invest in Germany Boys" and will be displayed at London's Bank underground station during the tournament.
The supermodel, who lives in Britain, urged her fellow Germans to wave their national flag at the World Cup in the same way millions of English people will be displaying the Cross of St George.
She said: "In England everyone waves the English flag, on t- shirts, on posters framed at home. This does not exist in Germany at all," Britain's Press Association reported.
The supermodel said Germans were aware of their country's history but added: "Today we are much more cosmopolitan. We have changed and grown into a positive nation with a great positive, democratic development.
"I hope within Germany we can make it cool that we can wear a German flag and not be embarrassed about it."
Ms Schiffer said she was keen to convince the English and the rest of the World that Germany was "fun and cool."
After unveiling the poster at the German embassy in London, Schiffer said she had been influenced by Brigitte Bardot being photographed with the French flag which had given France a "feminine accent."
The model is the face of a campaign to use the World Cup to rebrand Germany's image. Germany is being promoted as the "Land of Ideas" - a phrase coined by President Horst Koehler - and a cosmopolitan, innovative, modern country.
The campaign is aimed at other countries, including Britain, to promote business investment and tourism in Germany.
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
