Argentine president reveals plans for skyscraper in shape of the country

Argentina says it will build the tallest building in Latin America, constructed in the shape of the country, together with a stadium shaped like the Falkland Islands.

President Cristina Fernandez says the 355-metre tower was expected to cost around US$300 million and would serve as a centre for the entertainment industry, including television and "Hollywood" style film studios.

Architectural plans released on Wednesday depict it as being in the shape of Argentina's outline, while an outdoor stadium for 15,000 people at ground level is shaped like the British territory in the South Atlantic that is claimed by Argentina, which calls it Las Malvinas.

Fernandez says the building, which will be lit in the blue and white colours of the national flag, is to be constructed on state land with private funding.

The winning design for the Buenos Aires project comes as her government struggles with a recession and one of the world's highest inflation rates.

The plan provoked hundreds of comments on social media, with some poking fun at it by posting images of King Kong on top of the building or a graph resembling the structure showing Argentina's spiralling inflation.