London, July 5 (ANI): The reputation of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is set to receive a further blow after the release of new photographs showing the Italian Prime Minister grinning while two young women kiss in front of him.

After two months of battling the allegations about his private life, the new photographs clicked at his Sardinian estate threaten to defame Berlusconi ahead of G8 summit of leading industrialised nations this week, reports Times Online.

The photograph taken by Antonello Zappadu, shows the 72 year old media tycoon-turned-politician grinning approvingly as Angela Sozio, 36, former Big Brother contestant, sits on the knees of another young woman and kisses her on the lips.

Several European publications are bidding for photographs, which are believed to be taken in 2007 and 2008.

An informed source said the aim was to publish them just before the summit begins on Wednesday “for maximum impact”.

One of the candid photos also shows, Berlusconi, who was leader of the opposition at the time, with five young women in a gazebo. Two of them are sitting on his lap.

Since the sex scandal, when an escort girl revealed that she spent a night with Berlusconi, his popularity has fallen from 73pct to 62pct, according to private polls.

He has told his staff that he is worried about photographs appearing before the summit in L’Aquila in central Italy, which was devastated by an earthquake in April. (ANI)