Two sisters have been arrested in Cambodia for taking naked photos of each other inside the country's holy Angkor temple.

Lindsey Adams, 22, and her 20-year-old sister Leslie, from Prescott, Arizona, were discovered taking 'nude pictures' inside the Preah Khan temple at the world heritage site on Friday.

Local police said the women 'lowered their pants to their knees and took pictures of their buttocks.'

The pair have been fined 1 million riel ($250) each, given six-month suspended jail sentences and are currently being deported by bus to Thailand, reports claim.

They have been banned from returning to Cambodia for four years.

Arrested: Lindsey Adams, 22, (pictured in an earlier holiday photo) and her sister Leslie, 20, were detained for taking naked pictures at Cambodia's sacred Angkor temple

Questions: Lindsay (left) and Leslie (right) from Prescott, Arizona, looked sullen as they spoke to police

Happier times: The sisters pulled funny faces and smiled in one of their more modest tourist snaps

A world heritage site, Angkor contains the remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, dating from the 9th to the 15th centuries, and is Cambodia's most popular tourist destination.

Chau Sun Kerya, a spokeswoman for the Apsara Authority, said the women's actions were offensive because Angkor is considered sacred ground.

According to Cambodia Expats Online the pair were charged with indecent trafficking pornography and exposing sexual organs.

Awaiting further action: Officials are debating what action to take and what charges to level against the girls

Accusations: A police officer said they were spotted pulling their pants to their ankles at the temple

Admitted their mistake: The girls apologized to officials and said they realized it was wrong, police said

Scene of the incident: They were taking nude photos inside the Preah Khan temple, one of Cambodia's oldest

'Perhaps they did not know Angkor is a holy site. But their inappropriate activities affect the sanctity of the place,' she told AFP.

'The two tourists admitted that they really made a mistake by taking nude photos.'

It is the second time in the last fortnight that tourists visiting the sprawling temple complex have been caught without their clothes.

Three French tourists were deported last weekend after they pleaded guilty to taking nude pictures of each other inside another temple within the complex.

The three deported French men received a suspended six-month prison sentence on two charges - public exposure and making pornography - and will be banned from re-entering Cambodia for four years.

The trio were caught just days after a series of photos of Asian women posing nude at ancient Cambodian temples went viral online and outraged officials who vowed to step up efforts to prevent similar stunts.

On holiday: Here the girls pose in front of another traditional building in Cambodia