Kazakhs inite Borat to visit

A top official from Kazakhstan has invited comedian Sacha Baron Cohen - who pokes fun at the country as his character Borat - to visit the country.

"I'd like to invite Cohen here. He can discover a lot of things," said deputy foreign minister Rakhat Aliyev.

In his film, Cohen's character Borat portrays Kazakhs as a nation of misogynists, racists and anti-Semites.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is released next month.

Mr Aliyev told local news agency Kazakhstan Today that Cohen could learn "women drive cars, wine is made of grapes, and Jews are free to go to synagogues".
But Mr Aliyev also said Cohen's character should not be taken too seriously.

"I understand that the feelings of many people are hurt by Cohen's show," he said. "But we must have a sense of humour and respect the creative freedom of others," he added.

Kazakhstan's largest chain of cinemas, Otau, said in September that it will not be showing the film. "We consider this movie offensive, a complete lie and nonsense," distribution manager Ruslan Sultanov told Reuters. "It's a shame that some Americans will probably believe what they see there," he added.

The Kazakh authorities also shut down Cohen's website, www.borat.kz, leading him to set up a new one, www.borat.tv.