Village sells street names to raise cash

A screen grab of ivad.hu/index2.html. A cash-strapped Hungarian village is offering the chance of immortality to anyone willing to pay to have a street named after them, and it's hoping world famous celebrities apply.

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - A cash-strapped Hungarian village is offering the chance of immortality to anyone willing to pay to have a street named after them, and it's hoping world famous celebrities apply.

The northeastern village of Ivad is charging around 100,000 forints ($511) per meter to name its eight streets and guarantees on its ivad.hu/index2.html Web site that the name will not be altered for 300 years.

"If, for example Barbra Streisand, whom I like a lot, has no street named after her, she may decide to have one in our village," said Gabor Ivady, mayor of Ivad where most of the 400-strong population are related.

People keen to visit the street named after them, however, will be disappointed as Hungarian law dictates roads cannot be named after the living.

Instead they will have to rely on a contract guaranteeing the name change will take posthumously.