LONDON A South Korean car firm will probably drop a planned television advert implying Princess Diana would have survived her fatal crash if she had been in one of their vehicles, its British representative said. British press and public opinion, highly sensitive to any perceived misuse of the Diana image, reacted angrily to the advertisement using a Diana look-alike in the latest Kia Motors model, accompanied by someone resembling her real-life companion Dodi Fayed. According to press reports, the spot shows the car being chased by paparazzi photographers, but managing to outpace them.

At the end, the Diana clone gets out and winks knowingly at the camera. Diana, Fayed and their chauffeur Henri Paul all died in the August 31 crash in a road tunnel in Paris as they were being pursued by photographers. British Trade and Industry Secretary Margaret Beckett lashed the publicity spot as appalling ... tasteless does not begin to describe this advert.

It should be halted immediately, she said. Jaibuhm You, London chief of Kia Motors, said late Sunday that the advert was only ever intended to be shown in Korea itself. But the company will cancel it, and not use it anywhere, if anyone could take any offence, he said. If anyone could think it looks even a little bit like Diana, we won't use it.

We are a major international company and we would not want to offend anyone anywhere in the world. (AFP)