A group of Russian Orthodox believers has accused Coca-Cola of blasphemy through a marketing campaign showing the cross and onion-shaped church domes on outdoor refrigerators, Russian prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Coca-Cola's local bottling subsidiary said its marketing approach was an attempt to promote Russia's culture, not offend people, a spokeswoman said.

She said it did not plan to drop the promotion and there had been no objections in other Russian cities.

A formal complaint has been lodged in Nizhny Novgorod, around 400 km (250 miles) from Moscow, by local residents who objected to the religious image contained inside a picture of a large Coke bottle on the side of cold drinks machines, Irina Monakhova, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor's Office said.

"Coca-Cola used the pictures of crosses and domes on their fridges and on their bottles, which caused particular offence, these people are saying," Monakhova said.

"On Dec. 11, the prosecutor's office received an appeal signed by 440 citizens of Nizhny Novgorod against Coca-Cola, saying that in the actions of the company there is a blasphemy against the sacrosanct Russian holy icons," Monakhova said.

The prosecutors would now investigate and announce on Jan. 12 on whether there was any legal case to answer, she said.

Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co. the world's second-largest bottler of Coca-Cola drinks, was responsible for the marketing initiative and intended to continue it, said spokeswoman Yana Guskova.

"We didn't want to offend someone or hurt their feelings, we just wanted to popularise Russian culture and let people know more about Russia's heritage. We used this picture in St Petersburg, Ufa and Kazan and it was fine in these cities."

"No, we haven't halted this marketing initiative," she said, when asked by Reuters if they had ended it after the complaint.

"Nizhny Novgorod is a city of 4 million people, so of course if many people take the offence we would withdraw this marketing initiative, but at the moment we don't see a very big concern about this issue."

A priest identified in newspaper Kommersant as supporting the complaint declined comment when contacted by Reuters.

Russia's tolerance towards Western influences has dived, with the Kremlin's political rhetoric notably hostile to the United States, the birthplace of Coca-Cola multi-national beverage group.

The company's representative office in Moscow declined comment and said it was a matter for Coca-Cola Hellenic.