"Positive punch" statue

A statue of Sylvester Stallone's famous film character, boxer Rocky Balboa, has been erected in a tiny Serbian town to give a positive punch to the village's image after years of hard times.

The three-metre high bronze statue of Stallone as Rocky, made by a Croatian sculptor, was revealed late on Saturday (local time) in the centre of the Serbian village of Zitiste, some 55 kilometres north of the capital Belgrade.

A village resident thought up the idea of building a statue last February as he wanted to pay tribute to his favourite movie hero after seeing the sixth and latest Rocky movie.

"I felt as if Rocky has come from our village, he had to fight to win his place in society," Bojan Marceta said at the time.

The village, in Serbia's northern Vojvodina province, suffered serious damage after persistent floods last year. Many of its inhabitants have left their homes in search of a better future.

When village officials heard of Mr Marceta's idea they enthusiastically embraced the project in a bid to shed a "more positive light on Zitiste," said Zoran Babic of the local council.