LAUCHRINGEN (Germany), Feb 17 — A group of German friends claimed a world record yesterday for the highest number of smurfs, gathered in one place.

Fans of the blue elf-like creatures created in a Belgian comic strip in 1950s, managed to gather 2,762 people dressed and painted blue in the regulation smurf attire -- curly hats and all.

The gathering took place at the town of Lauchringen, near the German border with Switzerland, the organisers reported on Facebook.

Their record came three years after their first attempt failed to beat the record held by Welsh students who managed to unite 2,510 regulation smurfs in Swansea back in 2009.

The German's first effort failed to raise the bar, with a mere 2,149 turning up.

The rules of the game are strict: the only people counted as the genuine article are those with any bare skin painted blue and the rest of the body clothed in smurf attire.

The group of friends made their second, victorious attempt yesterday with the backing of the mayor of Lauchringen, they said.

The smurfs, small, impish creatures who live in a village, were created by the Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford, known as Peyo.

They became so popular that the stories eventually spilled over into cartoons and even live-action films, while the characters have been merchandised across the world. — AFP