Egypt's Al-Azhar denies top officials visited porn sites

Egypt top Islamic authority has denied that senior officials visited pornographic websites, local media reports.

The Al-Azhar spokesman made the denial after an image was circulated online of the dean of its university and clerics in front of a presentation screen that allegedly showed a thumbnail for porn site.

"When you open the Google Chrome browser it shows large thumbnails for some of the websites you have visited," the spokesman said.

"An investigation has shown that the thumbnail in question was for international tourism company Celebrity Cruises - not a pornography website as was said," he added.

The logo for the tourism agency is a large X.

In a separate statement, another Al-Azhar spokesman said the image, which has been widely shared and mocked online, was doctored.

"The image is fake and a targeted attack by weak-minded individuals," he said.

Al-Azhar and its university are Egypt's highest Islamic institutions.