Amah Rock vs Everest in vote for world's seven natural wonders

Mount Everest, the Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon and the Yangtze River are obvious contenders for the seven natural wonders of the world ... but Amah Rock?

The distinctively shaped geographical feature overlooking Sha Tin is the Hong Kong entry on a shortlist of 260 contenders upon which internet users are being asked to vote in a global contest.

The nomination of Amah Rock has divided experts.

The shortlist was drawn up based on voting on 441 natural features the world's public nominated last year.

The competition is being run by the New7Wonders campaign, a non-profit foundation led by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber which ran a similar contest to choose the seven man-made wonders of the world. That drew nearly a billion voters.

The Great Wall and the Colosseum in Rome topped that poll.

'We are calling on people all over the world to actively show their appreciation for our ... natural world,' a campaign spokeswoman said.