Benetton has landed in hot water for its recent advertising campaign, which shows digitally-manipulated images of political and religious leaders exchanging kisses.

The Italian fashion label has a reputation for creating controversial publicity campaigns having released an image of a nun kissing a priest and parents grieving over a man dying of Aids in previous years.

The company’s new ad campaign - ‘Unhate’- is equally taboo.

It shows an image of American president Barack Obama locking lips with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao.

In another ad, Pope Benedict XVI is seen kissing Ahmed el Tayyeb, an Egyptian imam and a prominent figure in Sunni Islam.

The image has sparked outrage among the Catholic community with the Vatican openly condemning the ads.    

"This shows a grave lack of respect for the Pope, an offence to the feelings of believers, a clear demonstration of how publicity can violate the basic rules of respect for people," said Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican's spokesman.

The Vatican has suggested that it may take legal action against Benetton over the offensive images.

Benetton has decided to pull its Unhate advertising campaign due to the whirlwind of backlash it has received.

However the clothing giant argues that while the ads may be provocative, the campaign was designed to "exclusively to fight the culture of hate in every form".   

"The central theme is the kiss, the most universal symbol of love, between world political and religious leaders," said the company’s deputy head, Alessandro Benetton, in a statement.