Moscow - The Russian region of Nizhny Novogorod voted on Thursday to erase California from its map - not the US state, but a deserted village by the same name.

Locals say the village, about 400 kilometers northeast of Moscow, dates to the 19th century when a whimsical aristocrat moved his peasants there and dubbed the settlement California after learning of Russia's sale of Alaska to the United States, news agency Itar-tass reported.

But in 2000 the local school, store and post office closed down, and California became a ghost town. Most residents have moved to another village seven kilometers away, where they are known as Californians.

"California is not the only town that is disappearing from our map today," a regional official told Itar-tass. "The local administration has approved a bill to abolish seven villages because there is now not a single person living there." (dpa)