Permanent marker

A video showing a woman apparently getting a tattoo expressing her love of the Great Barrier Reef in a bid to win a dream gig on an Australian island was actually created by the tourism department advertising the job, the agency admitted yesterday...

Thousands of people from across the globe have submitted video applications to the tourism department of Australia's Queensland state for what it's billing as the "Best Job in the World" - a £68,000 contract to relax on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef for six months while writing a blog to promote the island.

Among the most popular video entries - which can be viewed on the job ad's website - was footage of an Australian woman walking into a tattoo parlour and walking out with an apparent tattoo on her arm that read, "I (heart) islands of the Great Barrier Reef".

But on Monday, Tourism Queensland's Chief Executive Officer Anthony Hayes acknowledged the video - and another showing a woman singing a song - were both the work of a Brisbane advertising agency that created the job campaign.

The videos were intended to serve as guides for prospective applicants and have now been removed, Hayes said.

"We messed up," Hayes said.

"We should have had the word 'sample'" on the videos.

More than 1.8 million visitors have clicked on the job's website since it was launched last week, and the department has received 6,600 applications, Hayes said.

The job is part of an £805,000 campaign to publicise the charms of northeastern Queensland state.

The employee will be required to do little more than explore the reef and post videos and photos on a weekly blog to help promote the area.

Source: NZ Herald