(AFP) The government considers human embryo cloning unethical and unacceptable to the country's religious teachings, Health minister Chua Jui Meng was reported as saying.

"Our view is that cloning of human beings is unethical and unacceptable in terms of our religions and culture," Chua was quoted as saying by the Sun newspaper.

"As far as we are concerned, the answer is no to human cloning," Chua said.

Chua said that while the government opposed human cloning, it was not against cloning of body parts to replace organs.

"In view of the development of biotechnology, it is possible for us, not too far in the future, to develop from our own tissues the organs that we require for replacements," he said.

His remarks came after Italian embryologist Severino Antinori announced he planned to begin creating cloned babies for infertile couples.

Antinori gained notoriety in 1994 by helping a 62-year-old woman have a child with the aid of artificial insemination.