Island’s new name with ‘sex appeal’ sparks row

French Polynesia���s president has landed himself in hot water after suggesting that the country take a new name that has ���sexy��� connotations for some islanders.
Oscar Temaru has been campaigning for a name change in French Polynesia to symbolise increased independence from France, but his suggested alternative has caused ripples among some.
Temaru has put forward ���Maohi Nui���, a name that refers to the indigenous people of French Polynesia in the language of the archipelago���s most famous island, Tahiti.
But inhabitants of another island group, Marquesas Islands, know ���Maohi��� as a raunchy word for touching a woman���s sexual parts, the publisher of Tahiti-Pacifique magazine, Alex du Prel, said.
���For Tahitians it is a fine word, but for Marquesans it is very sexual and not really the type of name you want to have to symbolise your country���, he said.