BANGKOK, March 27, 2009 (AFP)- Thai authorities destroyed more than 45 million dollars' worth of counterfeit goods on Friday, in a bid to demonstrate the government's strong stance on fake merchandise.

China has also been accused of failing to respect US patents (Photo: AFP/Mark Ralston)

More than one million illegally produced items including "designer" cosmetics and clothing, and CD and DVD copies, had been seized during about 1,200 criminal investigations, an official statement said.

"This reflects the Thai government's continued sincerity in cracking down on goods that violate intellectual property laws," Alongkorn Ponlaboot, deputy commerce minister, said in the statement.

The goods, officially estimated to be worth 1.6 billion baht (45.7 million dollars), were destroyed to prevent them from re-entering the black market, the government statement said.

Last year Thailand expressed its displeasure at the kingdom's appearance for a second year on the United States' priority watchlist on intellectual property rights protection.

Thailand was one of nine countries including China and Russia singled out by its top trading partner for allegedly failing to respect US patents and copyrights.

It listed copyright violations on books, computer software, DVDs and cable television in Thailand as cause for concern.