Cambodian authorities are attempting to tackle a recent trend for stripping naked at the temples of Angkor by drawing up a code of conduct it is hoped will persuade tourists to keep their clothes on.

In recent months, various photos have emerged that show both foreign men and women in the nude at the heritage site, some of which led to the arrest of those involved.

After a Chinese model posed topless amid the ruins in January, and three French men were arrested for posing naked at Banteay Kdei temple, a code of practice for tourists had become a priority for the Apsara Authority, which runs the Angkor Archaeological Park.

“Common sense” rules about keeping clothes on and not touching monuments will soon be printed out and distributed to hotels and tour guides, the Phnom Penh Post reported this week.

The craze is not only occurring at Angkor, however. A handful of tourists have been reportedly posing for nude photos at culturally-important sites including the Pyramids of Giza (pornography actress Carmen De Luz posted a photo of herself with her buttocks bared on top of a camel on Instagram) and Machu Picchu, as well as on Everest.

Machu Picchu has seen a string of nude poses recently, prompting the Peruvian government to launch its own crackdown and publicly ask tourists to stop stripping off.

The Peruvian Times reported that four American tourists were detained on March 14 for taking naked photos in front of the ruins of the 15th-century Incan city.

In the same month, two Canadians and two Australians were detained for the same reasons.

An Israeli tourist poses at Machu Picchu PHOTO: courtesy of mynakedtrip.com

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"The temples of Angkor are exotic and romantic, but nudity in these important cultural sites is deeply disrespectful,” said Andrew Booth, founder of About Asia Travel, who visits the site regularly.

He thinks that the reaction from officials and the media to the most recent nudity has probably served to increase the "dare factor" of such photos.

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“Until these recent events, nothing like this has happened for as long as I can remember,” he said “but a single case, reported and publicly denounced, seems to have generated a silly season of copycats - it's not clever!”

Ethan Crowley, also from About Asia, said that those who decide to bare all are in the minority, however. “It is good to remember that more than two million visitors come to Angkor every year, and the vast, vast majority behave with proper levels of respect and courtesy,” he said.

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“Of course, there will always be a small minority of uncivil tourists, those 'one in a million' visitors who disrespect the practices and heritage of other cultures - it is unfortunate that this small group causes such publicity because of their discourteous actions.”