Thai couple claim world's longest smooch

A Thai couple has claimed the world's longest kiss, locking lips for 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds at a smooching contest in Pattaya beach resort, organisers said Friday.

Ekkachai Tiranarat, 44, and his wife Laksana, 33, received a cash reward of Bt100,000 and two diamond rings worth about Bt200,000 each for pulling off the world’s longest continuous kiss completed at 11:15 pm (1615 GMT) Thursday.

The kissing contest was organised by the Ripley’s Believe It or Not musueum in Pattaya, around 100 kilometres south-east of Bangkok, to commemorate Valentine’s Day.

At last year’s contest a gay couple set the world’s record with a canoodle lasting 50 hours, 25 minutes and 1 second.

Under the rules of the contest, contestants must keep continuous lip contact, including during bathroom breaks.

Thursday’s kiss was acknowledged by the Guinness World Records on Friday, a spokeswomen for the museum said.//DPA