St Lucia, on the North Coast, is looking for all the help it can get to be voted as the most popular town in the country.

The village won Town of the Year in KZN by beating Utrecht and Vryheid to make it through to the provincial finals of a competition run by DStv's Afrikaans channel, kykNet, to determine the most popular town in South Africa.

St Lucia is up against Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga, Potchefstroom in North West, Springbok in the Northern Cape, Mossel Bay in the Western Cape, Graaff Reinet in the Eastern Cape, Thabazimbi in Limpopo, Clarens in the Free State, and Heidelberg in Gauteng.

To vote, SMS the town's name to 33175. SMSes are charged at R1.50 each (free SMSes do not apply), and up to 100 SMSes may be sent from one SIM card with the final date for voting on July 30.

Ivan Facer, chairman of the St Lucia B&B association, said: "People in the town have really got behind the competition. We just want the rest of KZN to get behind us as well."

The winning town receives R1-million in TV marketing as a tourism destination, while one lucky final-round voter wins a holiday. Valued at around R60 000, the prize is two return tickets to Mauritius, transport to and from the airport, seven nights for two at a five-star resort, dinner and breakfast daily, one spa session for two, and one activity offered by the resort for two.

Winners will be announced next month on kykNet on August 4.