Dubai Expo offers close-up of Michelangelo's David, but only from neck up

Expo Dubai visitors hoping to see the 3D twin of Michelangelo's David in all its glory at Italy's pavilion may be disappointed as only the statue's head is visible to the public in a display slammed by some Italian media as self-censorship.

The head and neck of the six-meter-tall reproduction of the Renaissance statue are showcased in an octagonal structure at first-floor level while the genitalia and legs are visible at a lower level reserved for functions and select visitors.

Organizers of Italy's pavilion denied suggestions in Italian media that they had deliberately tried to hide the statue's genitalia due to religious and social sensitivities in the Gulf Arab state and the predominantly Muslim region.

"We planned to position David's statue the way it is now many, many months ago," commissioner Paolo Glisenti said.

"We took the David statue here... at the end of April in the middle of (the holy fasting month of) Ramadan, by the way, in the presence of many high officials of the Emirati and Italian government."