Thousands of people from more than 200 countries have applied for "the best job in the world" - being paid to loll about on an Australian island - officials said yesterday.

A late rush of more than 7,500 applications over the weekend brought the number of people hoping to become "caretaker" of tropical Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef to 34,684, the Queensland state government said. The deadline for applications was midnight on Sunday.

The most interest came from the US with 11,565 applicants, followed by Canada with 2,791, Britain with 2,262 and Australia with 2,064, the government said in a statement.