Sao Paulo, Brazil  - The environmental organization SOS Mata Atlantica is currently running a campaign that encourages Brazilians to save water by urinating while they are showering.

The campaign is called Xixi no Bahno (Peepee in bath) and it is being promoted through short, funny videos. It also has its own website (www. xixinobanho. org. br) where users can answer a questionnaire about peeing in the shower.

"The amount of water saved is good for the environment. Every toilet flushed uses 12 litres of water. Saving just one flush per day equals 4,380 litres a year," according to the organization, which fights for the protection of Brazil's threatened rain forests.

People who are apprehensive for hygienic reasons should consider that urine is 95 per cent water and only 5 per cent other substances such as urea and salt. The campaign recommends people relieve themselves right at the beginning of a shower.

The short video clips that are part of the promotion show men, women, children, basketball players, musicians, ghosts and extraterrestrials amusingly peeing behind fully drawn shower curtains. The musical message in the promotional campaign, which has been running since May, is, "Pee in the shower. Save the rain forest." (dpa)